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The 


July  2006 


Old  Radio  Times 

The  Official  Publication  of  the  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers 

Over  1,400  Subscribers  Number  8 


Contents 

Special  Features 

Tokyo  Rose  1 

Bringing  OTR  into 
the  Future  3 

Book  Review  6 

Johnny  Dollar's 
Travel  Trivia  7 

Lonesome  Gal  11 

Radio  in  1939 12 

Kiddie  Records 
Weekly  15 

Collecting  Kiddie 
Records  17 

Bogart  Answers  19 

Cloak  &  Dagger  20 

Ryan's  Discs  21 

Blair  of  the  Mounties 
22 

Regular  Features 

Librarian's  Shelf  14 
Crossword  18 
Treasury  Report  20 
Website  Update  22 
Wistful  Vistas  23 
Buy-Sell-Trade  25 
Sushi  Bar  27 


Tokyo  Rose:  American  Patriot 

Jack  French 

Many  in  the  OTR  community  tend  to  hold 
on  to  cherished  myths  long  after  the  evidence 
has  proven  the  opposite.  They  mistakenly 
believe  that  the  Lone  Ranger's  true  name  was 
John  Reid,  that  David  Sarnoff  communicated 
with  the  sinking  Titanic,  and  that  Straight 
Arrow  was  a  white  man  disguised  as  a 
Comanche  Indian.  And  many  OTR  fans,  like 
their  counterparts  in  the  American  public,  are 
convinced  that  "Tokyo  Rose"  was  guilty  of 
treason  since  she  betrayed  her  country.  That 
last  myth  is  the  by  far  the  worst,  since  it 
deprives  a  living  American  patriot  of  the 
honor  she  deserves. 

Please  put  aside  for  a  few  minutes 
everything  you  thought  you  knew  about 
Tokyo  Rose  and  consider  the  facts  of  her  case. 
Iva  Toguri  was  born  on  Independence  Day, 
July  4,  1916  in  Los  Angles,  the  second  of  four 
children  born  to  Japanese  immigrants.  Her 
parents  were  proud  of  their  adopted  country 
and  spoke  English  in  their  home.  Iva 
progressed  from  being  a  Girl  Scout  to 
graduating  from  UCLA  in  1940  with  a  degree 
in  zoology. 

She  probably  would  have  never  seen  her 
parent's  country  had  not  her  aunt  in  Japan 
become  bedridden  in  the  summer  of  1941. 
Iva's  parents  sent  her  to  Japan  to  care  for  her 
aunt,  despite  the  fact  that  her  U.S.  passport 
was  tied  up  in  the  State  Department.  Caring 
for  her  aunt  as  best  she  could  for  the  next  few 
months,  Iva  had  trouble  fitting  in  as  she  could 
hardly  speak  Japanese  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  customs. 

As  international  tensions  mounted  between 
the  two  countries,  she  tried  to  return  to  the 
land  of  her  birth  on  December  2,  1941  but 
paperwork  problems  forced  her  to  cancel  her 

The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  * 


trip  and  just  five  days  later  ,  Pearl  Harbor  was 
bombed.  She  assumed  she  would  be  interned 
as  an  "enemy  alien"  but  Japanese  authorities 
instead  told  her  to  give  up  her  U.S. 
citizenship.  She  refused.  Iva  remained  at  her 
aunt's  home,  was  considered  an  "American 
spy"  by  her  neighbors,  and  finally  found  work 
as  a  translator  at  a  Japanese  news  agency. 
Shortly  after  this,  she  learned  that  her  entire 
family  had  been  interned  at  the  Gila  River 
Relocation  Center,  where  they  would  spend 
WW  II  behind  barbed-wire. 

Later  she  met  a  Portugese-Japanese 
pacifist,  Felippe  d' Aquino,  who  became  her 
best  friend  and  paid  her  medical  bills  when 
she  was  hospitalized  for  beriberi  and  scurvy, 
the  result  of  her  inability  to  get  good  food. 
Desperate  for  money,  she  took  an  additional 
job  at  Radio  Tokyo  as  an  English-language 
typist.  There  she  met  three  POWs  on  loan  to 
that  radio  station:  Australian  Major  Charles 
Cousens,  captured  at  Singapore,  Captain 
Wallace  Ince  (U.S.  Army)  and  Lt.  Norman 
Reyes  of  the  Philippines,  all  of  whom  had 
radio  experience.  Under  the  noses  of  the 
Japanese,  their  assigned  program,  Zero  Hour, 
was  filled  with  sly  digs  at  the  Japanese, 
sarcasm,  and  planned  flubs.  They  trusted  Iva, 
who  was  smuggling  medicine  and  food  to 
them  from  her  own  meager  supplies.  While 
the  Japanese  assumed  that  Zero  Hour  was 
demoralizing  the  American  troops  it  was 
aimed  at,  Cousens'  group  assured  that  never 
happened. 

The  trio  brought  Iva  to  the  microphone 
since  she  shared  their  views  and  would  not 
betray  them.  Beginning  in  November,  1943, 
she  played  records  and  talked  to  the  GI's  as 
"Ann"  which  Cousens  later  changed  to 
"Orphan  Ann."  Zero  Hour  was  soon  expanded 
to  75  minutes,  of  which  she  had  20  minutes. 

(Continued  on  page  2) 


Number  8 


1 


Tokyo  Rose  (Continued  from  page  1) 

Her  theme  song  was  Gershwin's  "Strike  Up  the 
Band",  the  fight  song  from  her  alma  mater.  While  her 
listening  audience  of  American  GFs  and  sailors 
nicknamed  her  "Tokyo  Rose"  she  never  used  that  name  on 
the  air. 

While  Iva  was  the  usual  female  voice  on  "Zero  Hour" 
many  other  English-speaking  women  were  also  on  it, 
including  Ruth  Hayakawa,  Mieko  Furuya,  and  Mary  Ishii. 
After  her  marriage  to  d' Aquino  on  April  19,  1945,  Iva 
abandoned  the  mike,  but  a  month  later,  when  Denmark 
broke  relations  with  Japan,  she  lost  her  paying  job  as  a 
typist  at  the  Danish  embassy,  so  she  had  to  return  to  her 
Radio  Tokyo  employment. 

In  August  1945,  Japan  surrendered,  following  the 
atomic  bombing  of  Hiroshima  and  Nagasaki.  Iva  and  her 
new  husband  began  plans  to  relocate  to  the  U.S.  She 
acknowledged  her  "Tokyo  Rose"  identity  in  a  press 
conference  with  dozens  of  U.S.  reporters,  but  pointed  out 
that  she  had  never  broadcast  any  anti-U.S.  propaganda  and 
had  been  loyal  to  her  native  country.  Nonetheless,  she  was 
arrested  on  October  17,  1945  and  thrown  in  a  tiny  cell  in 
Sugamo  Prison,  used  by  the  American  Army  to  hold 
Japanese  war  criminals,  where  she  would  spent  the  next 
year.  During  that  period  her  mother  died  and  the  rest  of 
her  family  moved  to  a  suburb  of  Chicago  to  start  their  life 
anew. 

The  legal  section  of  the  8th  Army  concluded  there  was 
no  evidence  that  Iva  had  committed  any  treasonous  acts 
and  she  was  released  from  military  custody  in  October 
1946.  During  the  ensuing  months,  as  she  struggled  to  get 
back  to  the  U.S.,  the  American  media,  led  by  Walter 
Winchell,  demanded  she  be  brought  to  trial  for  treason. 
More  tragedy  struck:  in  January  1948  her  son  died  the  day 
after  he  was  born  in  Tokyo. 

The  Department  of  Justice,  yielding  to  media  pressure, 
arrested  her  in  April  1948  and  threw  her  back  in  a  Tokyo 
prison.  She  would  remain  incarcerated  there,  with  no 
attorney  access,  for  the  next  five  months,  but  she  remained 
convinced  her  trial  would  prove  her  innocence.  In 
September  1948  she  was  taken  by  ship  to  San  Francisco 
where  she  would  await  her  trial,  which  did  not  begin  until 
July  1949. 

The  deck  was  stacked  against  her.  The  prosecution 
brought  from  Japan  only  witnesses  who  would  testify 
against  her;  other  witnesses  were  prevented  from  coming 
to  the  U.S.  The  defense  was  able  to  produce  only  three 
witnesses  from  overseas,  all  of  whom  were  harassed  by 
U.S.  judicial  authorities  before  and  during  her  trial. 

Despite  13  weeks  of  testimony,  making  it  the  most 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


expensive  trial  in  U.S.  history,  the  jury  took  only  three 
days  to  produce  a  guilty  verdict.  In  October  1949,  she  was 
sentenced  to  10  years  in  jail  and  fined  $  10,000.  Six  weeks 
later,  she  was  transported  to  the  federal  women's  prison  in 
West  Virginia  where  she  would  be  behind  bars  for  over 
six  years.  A  model  prisoner,  she  earned  time  for  good 
behavior  and  was  released  in  July  1956. 

The  government's  animosity  toward  Iva  did  not  end 
then,  for  U.S.  officials  spent  the  next  two  years  trying 
unsuccessfully  to  deport  her  to  Japan,  despite  her  U.S. 
citizenship.  Her  insurance  policy  was  seized  to  help  pay 
her  $  10,000  fine  and  her  family  was  hounded  until  they 
paid  every  penny.  The  U.S.  also  destroyed  her  marriage, 
banishing  her  husband  from  this  country;  they  never  saw 
each  other  again. 

By  the  early  70s,  the  tide  was  slowly  turning  in  favor 
of  this  gentle  lady  as  various  individuals  and  groups  began 
to  believe  in  her  innocence.  In  March  1976  the  Chicago 
Tribune  published  statements  from  the  two  strongest 
witnesses  against  her  at  the  trial,  who  now  recanted  their 
testimony.  That  same  year,  she  was  able  to  tell  her  true 
story  on  60  Minutes  and  all  the  revelations  led  President 
Gerald  Ford  to  pardon  her  in  1977,  making  her  the  first 
person  in  the  U.S.  to  be  convicted  of  treason  and  then 
pardoned. 

In  the  1980s  and  1990s,  I  suggested  several  times  to 
FOTR  convention  at  Newark  that  an  invitation  be 
extended  to  Iva  Toguri,  but  the  committee  would  not 
consider  it.  During  one  convention  I  presented  a  panel  on 
"WW  II  Radio  Renegades"  and  explained  how  her 
innocence  had  been  established. 

Beverly  Beyette  (Jean  Hay)  whose  radio  show 
"Reveille  With  Beverly"  during  WW  II  aired  to  military 
personnel  in  54  countries,  said  in  2003  "Iva  was  doing  her 
part  for  the  U.S.  war  effort  during  WW  II.  I  now  call  her 
my  friend  and  colleague."  In  the  Winter  2004-05 
publication  of  the  WW  II  Veterans  Committee  the 
complete  history  of  Iva  Toguri  was  set  forth.  The  author, 
Tim  G.W.  Holbert  concluded:  "It  is  clear  that  Iva  Toguri 
not  only  wants,  but  deserves,  to  be  remembered  as  a  loyal 
and  patriotic  American."  That  same  veteran's  group 
presented  Toguri  with  the  Edward  J.  Herlihy  Citizenship 
Award  on  January  15,  2006. 

The  internet  offers  many  updates  of  Iva's  history  and 
current  status;  obviously  some  are  more  accurate  than 
others.  D.N.  Dyar  of  Portland,  OR,  is  the  webmaster  of 
one  of  the  best  sites: 

http://www.dyarstraights.com/orphan  ann/orphanan.html 
He  and  his  associate,  Barbara  Trembley,  can  forward  by 
email  any  communications  to  Iva  ,  who  is  retired  in 

(Continued  on  page  3) 

tily2006  *  Number  8  2 


Tokyo  Rose  (Continued  from  page  1) 

Chicago,  IL.  To  contact  her,  send  email  to 
<iva@DyarStraights.com> 

This  gracious,  patriotic  lady  will  be  90  years  old  on 
July  4th.  What  a  wonderful  gesture  it  would  be  if  every 
OTR  fan  who  reads  this  article  will  send  her  birthday 
greetings.  I  shall,  and  I  hope  you  will  too. 

Bringing  OTR  Into  the  Future 
(or  How  We  Ruined  An  OTR 
Enthusiast's  Toy) 

Andrew  Hopkinson 

Recently  we,  and  by  we  I  mean  Doug  and  son, 
completed  a  project  that  we  had  been  working  on  and 
planning  for  a  good  amount  of  time.  We  had  been  hearing 
of  other  OTR  fans,  especially  Mark  McClure,  buying  old 
and  broken,  or  at  least  semi-broken,  radios  off  of  Ebay  and 
then  taking  these  and  fixing  them  up,  repairing  and 
refinishing  them,  and  putting  them  on  display  in  their 
houses. 

Now  this  is  an  appealing  idea.  OTR  is  good  and  old 
radios  are,  to  be  blunt,  cool.  The  project  begs  the  question, 
what  do  you  do  with  a  refinished  old-time  radio?  There  is 
rarely  OTR  on  the  air  these  days,  if  you  are  even  so  lucky 
as  to  have  a  station  that  broadcasts  it  at  all,  and  solely 
playing  your  local  rock  station  on  it  seems  nothing  short 
of  treasonous. 

Mark  found  an  interesting  solution  to  this  issue  by 
having  an  analog  input  placed  on  the  radio,  which  allowed 
him  to  play  audio  out  of  his  computer  through  the  radio. 
This  is  a  feasible  solution.  OTR  can  be  played,  and  it  is 
still  a  working  radio.  This,  however,  didn't  click  with  us; 
we  wanted  more  than  just  a  glorified  speaker,  and  we 
certainly  wanted  something  that  didn't  depend  on  being 
hooked  up  to  a  computer.  In  other  words,  a  stand  alone 
solution. 

So  we  toyed  with  the  idea  of  taking  an  old-time  radio 
chassis  and  turning  it  into  a  jukebox  in  its  own  right.  This, 
of  course,  meant  turning  it  into  a  computer.  How  we 
would  accomplish  this  wasn't  quite  clear,  mainly  because 
we  didn't  even  have  a  radio  to  work  with  and  as  such  we 
had  no  idea  what  would  fit,  and  what  would  look  good  in 
it.  So  we  agreed  that  the  first  thing  that  needed  to  be 
accomplished  was  to  find  a  decent  condition  radio  of  a 
decent  size  that  would  serve  as  the  foundation  for  our  new 
idea. 

Well,  the  gods  of  OTR,  and  the  gods  of  gadgetry, 
smiled  upon  us,  for  no  more  than  a  week  after  we  dreamed 


up  the  project,  did  a  local  and  good  shape  radio  turn  up  on 
ebay.  This  radio  was  a  1948  model  Philco  console,  the  48- 
1263.  The  radio  was  working,  by  which  I  mean  that  it 
would  turn  on  and  get  all  of  three  stations  in. 

When  we  arrived  and  picked  up  the  radio,  we  found  it 
to  be  bigger  than  expected,  but  this  was  a  bonus.  More 
room  meant  a  wider  variety  of  options.  Once  we  got  the 
radio  back  home  and  inspected  it,  we  found  it  to  have  a  lot 
of  potential.  A  few  basic  questions  had  some  answers 
now. 

We  could  easily  fit  regular  sized  computer  parts  into 
this  case.  Before,  we  had  been  afraid  that  we  may  have 
had  to  purchase  a  SFF,  form  factor,  computer.  This  meant 
that  we  could  use  the  spare  parts  we  had  laying  around, 
which  was  a  good  thing;  more  money  saved  to  purchase 
other  radio-related  parts.  The  first  thing  we  agreed  upon, 
(this  "we"  now  excludes  Doug  and  includes  a  friend  of 
mine,  Kyle,  who  was  called  in  to  do  the  electrical  work), 
was  that  the  main  board  of  the  radio  would  have  to  come 
out.  So  we  set  to  work  and  had  it  out  in  few  minutes,  and 
that's  when  the  radio  proved  to  us  that  we  knew  nothing 
about  it  or  any  other  piece  1940's  technology. 


You  can  see  in  this  picture  that  the  main  board  of  the 
radio  is  the  key  point  of  this  case,  without  it  we  could  not 
maintain  the  true  radio  look  of  the  unit. 

We  were  able  to  replace  the  lights  in  the  radio  dial 
display  with  ones  that  were  compatible  with  the  5  volt  line 
in  a  computer  power  connector. 

The  other  thing  we  noticed  when  we  took  the  main 
board  off  was  that  someone  had  fairly  recently  put  a  lot  of 
work  into  this  radio,  everything  had  been  painstakingly 
rewired.  This  made  us  feel  guilty  about  our  intended  work, 
so  guilty  that  we  actually  considered  simply  leaving  the 
radio  as  is,  but  we  quickly  regained  sight  of  our  goal  and 
agreed  that  we  had,  in  fact,  bought  this  radio  with  only 

(Continued  on  page  4) 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


3 


Bringing  OTR  into  the  Future  (Continued  from  page  3) 

one  thing  in  mind  and  that  was  what  we  were  going  to  do 
with  it,  nothing  less.  Well,  that  and  we  figured  we  could 
cause  some  sort  of  outrage.  (You  took  apart  a  working 
radio?!?) 


This  is  the  finished  front  display.  The  bottom  left  knob  has 
been  replaced  with  a  speaker  control  and  the  top  left  knob 
turns  the  computer  on  or  off. 

The  next  step  was  figuring  out  just  how  we  wanted  to 
place  the  part  in  there.  I  handled  this  part  alone  armed 
with  a  short  stack  of  wood,  a  hammer,  and  a  terrible  sense 
of  carpentry.  The  first  step  was  to  get  the  motherboard 
we'd  picked  out  (a  Slot-1  board  purchased  back  in  2000) 
mounted  into  the  case  and  get  it  secured. 

The  first  thing  I  did  was  cut  down  a  piece  of  wood  so 
that  it  fit  very  snuggly  into  the  bottom  of  the  case.  This 
worked  out  well  as  the  base  of  the  radio  expanded  inward 
and  outward,  giving  the  wood  a  nice  resting  place.  A 
decision  was  made  to  forgo  securing  the  wood,  which 
proved  helpful  later  on  in  the  building  process,  since  it 
would  be  a  stationary  unit.  I'll  keep  the  rest  of  this  brief  as 
it  is  probably  the  most  boring  part,  but  I  will  say  that  with 
the  help  of  a  drill  I  mounted  a  motherboard  to  the  piece  of 
wood,  and  then  built  a  shelf  over  the  motherboard  to 
mount  other  pieces.  The  end  result  is  displayed  below. 


This  is  the  finished  mounting  job.  Remember  I'm  not  a 
professional  and  it's  probably  good  enough  to  be  a 
factory  job.  Though  the  power  supply  and  hard  drive  look 
as  though  they  are  simply  sitting  there,  I  secured  them 
using  space-age  Velcro-tape. 

I  decided  to  use  a  4.1  Cambridge  Soundworks  speaker 
system.  I  mounted  the  subwoofer  to  the  bottom  piece  of 
wood  next  to  the  shelf  built  above  the  motherboard,  again 
using  our  trusty  Velcro-tape.  Once  that  was  accomplished, 
the  next  question  was  reached;  how  do  we  want  to  interact 
with  this  system?  The  first  option  was  simply  connecting 
to  it  through  the  network.  The  decision  was,  however,  to 
hook  up  an  LCD  monitor.  The  front  of  the  radio  case  had 
a  large  compartment  that  pulled  out  and  allowed  you  to 
use  the  phonograph.  This  seemed  to  be  a  perfect  place  to 
put  the  LCD.  So  we  removed  the  phonograph  and  awaited 
the  delivery  of  a  17"  LCD.  Below  is  a  picture  of  the 
finished  mounting  of  the  LCD. 


The  LCD  pops  out  when  you  pull  on  the  handle.  Inside  the 
ledge  is  also  a  small  keyboard  and  a  wireless  mouse.  A 
more  detailed  picture  will  be  shown  further  on. 

(Continued  on  page  5) 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


4 


In  the  mean  time  we  decided  to  figure  out  how 
functional  we  could  make  the  radio's  knob.  We  wanted  to 
make  it  so  that  the  knobs  and  controls  were  for  more  than 
just  display.  We  wanted  them  to  do  something.  We  left  the 
station  dial  as  is,  since  we  wanted  it  to  look  functional. 
We  wanted  one  of  the  knobs  to  turn  on  the  computer. 

This  proved  to  be  tricky  as  for  a  computer  switch,  the 
connection  has  to  be  made  once  and  then  stop,  but  with 
the  radio  switch,  the  radio  is  only  on  while  the  connection 
is  made.  So  there  were  two  choices;  rig  up  a  push  button 
under  the  knob,  or  figure  out  how  to  use  the  current  knob. 
After  a  little  tinkering  we  realized  we  could  use  the 
current  knob  by  turning  the  knob  all  the  way  on  and  then 
back  off,  this  would  start  or  turn  off  the  computer. 

Next  we  used  liquid  nails  to  mount  the  radio  control 
under  the  radio  display  so  it  could  take  the  position  of  a 
knob  (we  had  to  hacksaw  off  the  original  knob  to  make 
room).  Once  that  was  done  we  waited  until  we  received 
the  LCD. 

Once  we  received  that,  (after  a  delivery  mix  up  at  Fedex 
which  ended  up  with  the  package  being  delivered  a  few 
blocks  away),  we  finished  up  the  physical  portion  of  the 
radio  project.  Pictured  below  is  the  finished  mounting  of 
the  LCD  and  the  keyboard. 


You  can  see  in  the  above  picture  that  the  computer  is 
not  using  a  typical  windows  interface.  We  utilized 
Desktop  X  from  Stardock  to  give  it  a  simpler  and  more  "to 
the  point"  feel.  The  background  is  wood  grain,  and  there 
are  a  few  shortcut  graphics.  We  topped  it  off  with  an  OTR 
skinned  Winamp  to  play  MP3's  on.  This  is  also  how  the 
radio  would  appear  when  logging  in  through  the  network. 
At  this  point  we  have  judged  the  radio  finished.  It  has  a 
few  issues  which  still  need  attending  to,  such  as  the  over- 
heavy  power  strip  inside  the  radio.  (Velcro-tape  didn't  cut 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


it)  Below  are  some  pictures  of  the  finished  product. 


2006  *  Number  8  5 


Historical  Dictionary  of  American 

Radio  Soap  Operas,  by  Jim  Cox 

A  Review  by  Stewart  Wright 

In  1999  the  book  The  Great  Radio  Soap  Operas  by  Jim 
Cox  was  published.  This  book  focused  on  31  of  the 
hundreds  of  soap  operas  that  aired  during  the  Golden  Age 
of  Radio  and  whetted  the  appetites  of  old-time  radio  fans 
for  a  more  comprehensive  volume  on  radio  soap  operas. 
In  late  2005  that  more  inclusive  book  arrived.  Scarecrow 
Press  published  Jim  Cox's  Historical  Dictionary  of 
American  Radio  Soap  Operas  as  a  volume  in  their 
"Historical  Dictionaries  of  Literature  and  the  Arts"  series. 

OTR  fans  have  come  to  expect  informative  and 
entertaining  books  from  Jim  Cox.  They  will  not  be 
disappointed  by  his  Historical  Dictionary  of  American 
Radio  Soap  Operas.  Jim  has  packed  an  amazing  amount 
of  information  into  his  320  page  volume. 

The  book  starts  with  an  informative  chronology  that 
spans  the  time  period  1925  to  1960,  halcyon  days  of  the 
radio  soap  opera.  The  introduction  covers  the  origins, 
basic  plot  and  characterization  schemas,  and  business 
aspects  of  radio  soap  operas.  The  concluding  section  of 
the  introduction  deals  with  an  overview  of  the  dictionary 
which  discusses  its  content  and  organization.  The 
dictionary  is  the  main  part  of  the  book  and  is  arranged  in 
alphabetical  order  and  contains  over  450  entries  that  fall 
into  one  of  four  categories. 
Series: 

There  are  in  excess  of  300  entries  on  the  individual  series, 
famous  and  obscure.  These  entries  contain  information  on 
primary  titles  (and  cross  references  to  alternate  titles),  plot 
and  character  overview,  network  affiliations,  beginning 
and  ending  air  dates,  and  cast,  crew,  and  sponsor 
information.  It  is,  in  all  probability,  the  most 
comprehensive  listing  of  American  radio  soap  operas. 
Individuals: 

Over  60  biographical  entries  deal  with  actors,  writers, 
directors,  producers,  and  announcers  who  prominently 
figured  in  the  success  of  the  genre.  Several  more  entries 
cover  authors  who  have  written  about  the  American  radio 
soap  opera. 
Topics: 

Additionally,  there  are  more  than  50  entries  that  supply 
the  reader  with  illuminating  information  on  broadcasting 
terms,  plotline  concepts  and  devices,  and  soap  opera  sub- 
genres. 

Organizations: 

Finally,  there  are  over  20  entries  that  discuss  major 
advertising  and  talent  agencies,  awards,  networks, 

The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


production  companies,  ratings  services,  sponsors,  and 
unions. 

The  bibliography  contains  much  more  information  than 
just  citations  on  of  reference  works  and  periodicals 
dealing  with  radio  and  soap  operas.  Additional  sources  of 
information  on  major  soap  opera  figures  are  listed. 
Information  is  integrated  on  several  useful  Internet 
websites.  There  also  is  a  listing  of  research  archives  with 
prominent  collections  of  soap  opera  related  materials. 

As  this  book  is  a  dictionary,  there  is  no  index. 
However,  throughout  the  book,  references  to  persons, 
series,  topics,  and  organizations  that  have  their  own 
separate  entries  are  shown  in  bold  text. 

Jim  Cox  has  added  yet  another  highly  informative  and 
enjoyable  book  to  the  body  of  literature  on  American  old- 
time  radio.  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  Historical 
Dictionary  of  American  Radio  Soap  Operas  will  become 
the  standard  general  reference  on  the  American  daytime 
radio  adult  serial  drama.  If  you  are  a  fan  of  radio  soap 
operas  or  just  interested  in  old-time  radio  history  in 
general,  this  book  deserves  a  place  in  your  library. 

Historical  Dictionary  of  American  Radio  Soap  Operas 
By  Jim  Cox 
ISBN  0-8108-5323-X 
November  2005 
320pp 

$70.00  Cloth 
The  Scarecrow  Press,  Inc. 
4501  Forbes  Blvd  Suite  200 
Lanham,  MD  20706 
301-459-366 

www.scarecrowpress.com 


HISTORICAL  DICTIONARY  OF 


American  Radio 


JIM  COX 


Johnny  Dollar' s  Travel  Trivia 

Ed  Sehlhorst 

Do  you  remember  the  geography  game,  "Where  in  the 
World  is  Carmen  Sandiego?"  Well  it  prompted  me  to  play 
the  game  with  Johnny  Dollar.  So  "Where  in  the  World  is 
Johnny  Dollar?" 

When  plotting  all  the  various  assignment  locations,  I 
found  that  about  10-15  percent  of  the  locations  are  either 
fictitious  or  refer  to  a  place.  Places  could  be  a  ranch  or  an 
old  mine,  or  even  a  fishing  camp  on  Lake  Mojave.  It  was 
especially  noticeable  if  somehow  the  plot  would  cast  the 
city  in  a  poor  light. 


Johnny's  Top  Ten  List  of  work  assignments: 


New  York  NY 

64 

Hartford  CT 

52 

27 

San  Francisco  CA 

16 

Boston  MA 

14 

Philadelphia  PA 

11 

Sarasota  FL 

11 

Davis  Dam  AZ  (Lake  Mojave 

10 

Resort) 

Las  Vegas  NV 

9 

Chicago  IL 

9 

And  on  the  map  it  looks  like  white  dots  .  .  . 


WASH. 


Canada 

ONTARIO 


B.C.    :  ALTA.  . 


Pacific 


Ocean 


NFLD.  AND 
LAB. 


QUEBEC 


.^MANITOBA: 


—J 


WYOMING  Q 

O  T 


/oU.Nol  t 

r     u  Q> 


"■'  MINN 


;me.Vhb- 

^Monjteal  S 


Los  Angele; 

San  Diego    — > 


•  HEW  MEXICO  : 


v  t         Ottawa  /" '  q/ 
fift     -Toronto     ':  :  i 
MICHIGAN  ^CNEWYORlfevyD 

-t   "id!  


R  o 


licago 

:         O  :.Q   PA-  J 

5  I  oQoQ/-«:-?v;^> 


.Phoenlx 


.as      "  M'X  k: 

OKLA°   D  | 
■  ■.  ARKANSAS 


■  .kf:VI.  VA. 


CD 

TEXAS 


Dallas! 


aP£' 


San  Antonio 


MEXICO 

r 

Monterrey 


J  I 

JLouisiah^o  ': 

Houston 


V  NORTH  CAROLINA 

>o  o 

\  ° 

b 

GA.  0 


o  o 
o 


Oassau 


^Guadalajara 


Atlantic 
Ocean 


Q:t>.tH»C:BG3  f.U: [:.:-. 1V: .  ir  It  :  IM'IH:  -II  intt  [r  -r.-  l 


Hauana„        THE  BAHAMAS 

°  O 

CUBA 

Caribbean  Sea  HMlt 


(3asseterreo  DSt.  John's 


(Continued  on  page  8) 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


7 


But  we  started  this  out  saying  where  in  the  WORLD  is  Johnny  Dollar.  Well,  we've  taken  care  of  that,  too. 


Arctic  Ocean 


Asia 


.  CHINA 


GREENLAND 
-J  (DEN.) 


SVALBARD 

(NOR.) 


INDONESIA  I 
1  C 

AUSTRALIA 

Indian  Ocean 


RUSSIAl 

■ope 


Pacific  Ocean 


'VBRAZILO 


Atlantic 
Ocean 

WeddeS  Sea 
Antarctica 


A' 

1* 


r 

o 


Now  we  all  know  that  Johnny  spent  most  of  his  out-of- 
country  time  in  Paris  dealing  with  the  "cat,"  five  times  in 
fact.  But  his  second  busiest  stop  was  just  across  the 
English  Channel  with  three  visits  to  London.  That  ties 
with  Haiti,  Port-au-Prince.  Johnny  was  always  off  to 
somewhere;  Kingston  Jamaica,  Hong  Kong,  Singapore, 
even  five  trips  to  different  parts  of  Mexico.  If  you  need 
all  the  details,  the  list  follows: 


State/Co  City/Location 

Malaysia        Kuala  Lumpur 

Malaysia  Total 


AK 

AK  Total 
AR 

AR  Total 
AL 

AL  Total 
Algeria 
Algeria  Total 


Fairbanks 

Little  Rock 

Birmingham 
Talladega 

Algiers 


Total 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 


AZ          Davis  Dam  10 

Grand  Canyon  1 

Kingman  3 

Phoenix  2 

Tucson  3 
Twin  Buttes,  Pima  1 

AZ  Total  20 

Brazil      Belo  Horizonte  1 

Brazil  Total  1 

CA         Balboa  1 

Bar  stow  1 

Beverley  Hills  4 

Clear  Lake  1 

Hollywood  6 

Inglewood  1 

Long  Beach  1 

Los  Angeles  27 

Malibu  2 

Morel  Bay  1 

Newport  Beach  4 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


(Continued  on  page  9) 
8 


Johnny  Dollar  (Continued  from  page 
8) 


Ocean  Park 

V  /V~V_  (.111    A    CI  1  1 V 

1 

Palm  SI nri no's 

J.  Cl-LJ.ll  O  L/llll£iiJ 

2 

San  RpTTiardiTio 

<J  till    L-f        11  til  U.111W 

1 

San  Diego 

6 

San  Francisco 

16 

San  Pedro 

1 

Santa  Barbara 

1 

Santa  Monica 

1 

Simi  Valley 

1 

CA  Total 

79 

China 

Hong  Kong 

2 

China  Total 

2 

CO 

Clinton 

1 

Colorado  Springs 

2 

Craig 

1 

Crystal  Lake  (lake)  1 

Denver 

6 

Divide 

1 

Green  Mountain  Falls 

3 

CO  Total 

15 

Colon 

Colon 

1 

Colon  Total 

1 

CT 

Bridgeport 

3 

Danbury 

2 

Fairfield 

1 

Granby 

1 

Hardford 

1 

Hartford 

52 

Lakewood 

2 

Manchester 

2 

Milford 

1 

New  Bedford 

1 

Skeleton  Point 

1 

Waterbury 

1 

CT  Total 

68 

Cuba 

Havana 

1 

Los  Spanios 

1 

Cuba  Total 

2 

DE 

Wilmington 

1 

DE  Total 

1 

Egypt 

Cario 

1 

Egypt  Total 

1 

England 

London 

3 

England  Total 

3 

FL 

Bradenton 

1 

Everglades  City 

3 

Key  West 

1 

Miami 

1 

Houton 

1 

Miami  Beach 

2 

Middleborough 

1 

Sault  Ste.  Mane 

2 

Sarasota 

11 

MI  Total 

7 

Tampa 

1 

MO  Greensport 

1 

Venice 

1 

Joplin 

1 

FL  Total 

21 

Kansas  City 

3 

France  Cannes 

1 

Kennett 

2 

Paris 

5 

MO  Total 

7 

France  Total 

6 

MS          Gulf  Port 

GA  Brunswick 

1 

Meridian 

Savannah 

1 

MS  Total 

GA  Total 

2 

MT  Bute 

Germany  Berlin 

1 

Great  Falls 

Germany  Total 

1 

Yaak 

Haiti  Port-au-Prince 

3 

MT  Total 

Haiti  Total 

3 

NE  Manhattan 

IA  Carrville 

1 

NE  Total 

Des  Moines 

1 

New  Guinea    Port  Moresby 

IA  Total 

2 

New  Guinea  Total 

IL  Chicago 

9 

NH         Center  Harbor 

Lockport 

1 

V//  Total 

IL  Total 

10 

Nicaragua  Managua 

IN           South  Bend 

1 

San  Juan  del  Sur 

IN  Total 

1 

Nicaragua  Total 

India       Calcutta,  West  Bengal, 

TVTT                             /~1  1 

NJ  Camden 

1 

Cranford 

India  Total 

1 

Enterprise 

Jamaica  Kingston 

1 

Freehold 

Jamaica  Total 

1 

Interlaken 

KY  Lexington 

1 

Lake  City 

KY  Total 

1 

Pemberton 

LA          New  Orleans 

4 

Trenton 

LA  Total 

4 

Upper  Montclair 

Lebanon  Beirut 

1 

Vineland 

Lebanon  Total 

1 

Woodbine 

MA  Boston 

14 

NJ  Total 

14 

Cod  Harbor 

2 

NM  Farmington 

East  North  Weldon  1 

Fort  Shelden 

MA  Total 

17 

Virginia  City 

MD  Baltimore 

2 

NM  Total 

MD  Total 

2 

NV         Coopers  Bend 

ME  Portland 

Davis  Dam 

ME  Total 

Lake  Mojave 

Mexico  Cozumel 

Las  Vegas 

Ensenada 

Reno 

Mexico  City 

South  Lake  Tahoe  1 

Monterrey 

Virginia  City 

Santa  Tomas 

Winnemucca 

Mexico  Total 

5 

NV  Total 

19 

MI 


Detroit 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


(Continued  on  page  10) 
9 


Johnny  Dollar  (Continued  from  page 
9) 


NY 


Albany 

Bethel 

Buffalo 

Catskill 

Kingman 

Kingston 

Manhattan 

New  York 

Ossining 

Port  Jarvis 


1 
3 
5 
1 
1 
1 
2 
64 
1 
1 


Stony  Hollow  1 

Yonkers  1 

NY  Total  82 

OH         Benton  1 

Columbus  1 

Jackson  1 

Kranesburg  1 

Toledo  1 

Youngstown  1 

OH  Total  6 

OK         Pond  Creek  3 

Tulsa  1 

OK  Total  4 

OR         Eugene  1 

Portland  1 

OR  Total  2 

PA          Philadelphia  1 1 

Piney  Corners  1 

Pittsburgh  1 

Tamaqua  1 

Uniontown  1 

PA  Total  15 
Panama         Panama  City  1 

Panama  Total  1 

Philippines     Manila  2 

Philippines  Total  2 

Puerto  Rico     San  Juan  1 

Puerto  Rico  Total  1 

RI           Providence  2 

RI  Total  2 

SC          Cayce  1 

Charleston  2 

Georgetown  2 

Hartford  1 

SC  Total  6 

Singapore       Singapore  3 

Singapore  Total  3 

South  Africa   Capetown  1 


South  Africa  Total  1 

Sumatra         Medan  1 

Sumatra  Total  1 

Switzerland  Zurich  1 
(Continued  on  page  11) 

Switzerland  Total  1 

Tahiti      Papeete  1 

Tahiti  Total  1 
The  Bahamas  Crooked  Island  1 


The  Bahamas  Total 


TN 


TN  Total 
TX 


Knoxville 

Memphis 

Nashville 

Corpus  Christi 

Dallas 

Fort  Worth 

Skidmore 

South  Padre  Island 


TX  Total 
VA 


Green  Pass 
Vicksburg 
Virginia  Beach 

VA  Total 

Venezuela  Caracas 
Venezuela  Total 


3 
2 
2 


VT 

1 

VT  Total 
WA 

WA  Total 
WI 

WI  Total 
WY 


Shady  Lane,  Fair  Haven 


Chuckanut 

Milwaukee 

Muddy  Gap 
Rexford 


WY  Total 
Grand  Total 


2 

491 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


Pipe  Tobacco  Sponsors 
Unusual  DJ  Program 

Danny  Goodwin 

"That  Bond  Street  Tobacco  with  its  wonderful 
unmistakable  aroma." 

—  "The  Lonesome  Gal" 

When  there  wasn't  any  specific  programming  on  the 
radio  station's  schedule  during  the  golden  age,  the  time 
was  usually  filled  with  "disk  jockey"  programs.  With  an 
occasional  chat  between  records,  these  programs  featured 
recorded  music.  With  one  exception,  disk  jockey 
programs  were  pretty  much  the  same.  Not  only  was  that 
one  exception  different,  it  was  a  program  that  was 
definitely  in  a  class  by  itself. 

The  Lonesome  Gal  was  a  late  night  DJ  program  the 
male  radio  listeners  of  all  ages  enjoyed  tremendously.  The 
DJ  was  known  as  "The  Lonesome  Gal,"  a  mysterious  lady 
with  considerable  sex  appeal  in  her  speaking  voice.  The 
program  was  a  quarter  hour  romantic  interlude  by  Ms.  Gal 
with  any  lonely  -  and  not  so  lonely  male  listener  tuning 
in.  Instead  of  talking  to  a  general  audience,  Ms.  Gal's 
speaking  technique  was  one-on-one  with  every  individual 
male  radio  listener. 

For  the  most  part,  this  syndicated  program  had  regional 
sponsors  (usually  regional  brands  of  beer).  For  a  time,  the 
program  was  also  sponsored  by  Philip  Morris  &  Co.,  Ltd. 
for  its  Bond  Street  Pipe  Tobacco.  It  was  a  sponsor  that 
was  tailor  made  for  Ms.  Gal's  romantic  comments. 

Although  this  program  doesn't  display  the  sexual 
overtones  as  today's  entertainment,  The  Lonesome  Gal 
was  ahead  of  its  time  in  the  romance  department.  In 
between  romantic  musical  recordings,  Ms.  Gal  used  a 
teasing  technique  in  her  conversation  with  the  men  in  the 
listening  audience.  Her  romantic  advances  were  minor  and 
tastefully  done  on  the  air. 

Bond  Street  played  a  key  role  in  Ms.  Gal's  romantic 
advances.  Instead  of  an  actual  commercial,  Ms.  Gal  easily 
blended  her  sponsor  into  the  conversation.  To  begin,  Ms. 
Gal  complimented  the  man  with  whom  she  was  talking  on 
how  he  looked,  walked,  talked  -  and  smoked  a  pipe  full  of 
Bond  Street.  Ms.  Gal  mentioned  that  she  loved  Bond 
Street's  wonderful  and  mellow  aroma.  So  much  so,  she 
offered  to  pack  a  pipe  full  of  Bond  Street  and  light  it  up 
for  the  man  she  was  talking  to.  Ms.  Gal  stated  that  she 
truly  enjoyed  watching  her  romantic  interest  relaxing  and 
smoking  a  pipe  full  of  Bond  Street. 

For  those  men  who  didn't  use  Bond  Street  or  even 
smoke  a  pipe  for  that  matter,  Ms.  Gal  made  sure  her 


romantic  conversation  was  directed  at  them.  She  highly 
recommended  those  men  to  start  smoking  a  pipe  full  of 
Bond  Street. 

Before  anyone  knew  it,  Ms.  Gal  completed  the  Bond 
Street  commercial  in  a  smooth,  effortless  manner.  With 
the  words  for  Bond  Street  presented  on  the  air,  she 
continued  with  the  next  recording. 

Whether  you  approve  of  this  type  of  program  or  not, 
the  Lonesome  Gal  used  a  very  clever  way  in  selling  her 
sponsor  on  the  air.  To  put  it  in  its  proper  perspective,  it 
was  a  method  even  Arthur  Godfrey  couldn't  do.  Although 
the  men  drooled  at  every  sultry  word  she  said,  Ms.  Gal's 
romantic  comments  between  records  were,  in  reality,  the 
Bond  Street  commercials.  Even  for  those  men  who 
despised  radio  commercials,  they  truly  enjoyed  hearing 
about  Bond  Street.  Now  that's  effective  radio  advertising, 
wouldn't  you  say? 

Author's  Note:  During  her  stint  on  the  air,  no  one  in 
the  listening  audience  knew  what  the  Lonesome  Gal 
looked  like.  When  she  appeared  at  live  events,  Ms.  Gal 
was  still  a  lady  of  mystery.  She  wore  a  large  black  mask  to 
cover  her  facial  features.  If  you're  wondering,  the 
Lonesome  Gal  in  real  life  was  Jean  King,  who  was 
married  at  the  time  she  was  doing  the  broadcasts. 


Pipe  Smokers — 


Modi  by  the  ipeciol  Philip  Morris  procasi 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


11 


Radio  in  1939 

Donna  Halper 

The  final  year  of  the  1930s  was  still  part  of  the 
"Golden  Age  of  Radio."  According  to  Radio  Today 
magazine,  there  were  now  44  million  radios  in  use  in  the 
United  States.  As  for  the  talent  scene,  critics  were  singing 
the  praises  of  an  up  and  coming  vocalist  named  Dinah 
Shore.  A  new  male  vocalist  named  Dennis  Day  was  doing 
quite  well  on  the  Jack  Benny  show  on  NBC.  And  speaking 
of  NBC,  perhaps  you  recall  Fred  Waring  and  his 
orchestra,  which  joined  that  network  in  1939,  sponsored 
by  Chesterfield.  Perhaps  you  had  your  copy  of  White's 
Radio  Log  handy,  so  that  you  could  check  out  the  call 
letters  and  frequencies  of  distant  stations  -  late  night 
dx'ing  was  a  popular  hobby  for  radio  fans.  As  for  radios, 
perhaps  you  owned  an  Emerson  portable  (you  could  get  a 
nice  5-tube  superheterodyne  for  only  $19.95)  -  and  the 
popular  battery  portables  continued  to  get  smaller  and 
lighter:  Majestic  offered  one  that  only  weighed  four 
pounds ! 


There  were  plenty  of  radio  dramas  and  soap  operas  on 
the  air  -  you  were  enjoying  Ezra  Stone  in  The  Aldrich 
Family  on  NBC-Blue,  while  The  Guiding  Light  was  on 
NBC-Red,  as  were  Phil  Spitalny's  All-Girl  Orchestra 
starring  in  the  Hour  of  Charm.  Life  Can  be  Beautiful  was 
on  CBS,  and  The  Lone  Ranger  was  on  the  Mutual 
Network.  Also,  1939  was  a  significant  year  for  FM  -  in 
late  May,  Yankee  network  owner  John  Shepard  III  teamed 
up  with  inventor  Edwin  Howard  Armstrong  to  bring  the 
new  technology  to  New  England  -  W1XOJ  was  the  first 
FM  station  in  Massachusetts,  soon  to  be  followed  by 
W1XER  in  New  Hampshire. 

If  you  were  alive  in  1939,  you  know  what  a  great  year 
for  entertainment  it  was  -  undoubtedly,  you  went  to  New 
York  for  the  opening  of  the  World's  Fair.  RCA's  David 
Sarnoff  was  there,  announcing  that  television  was  here  to 
stay,  and  demonstrating  his  company's  first  TV  station, 
W2XBS  -  soon  to  be  known  as  WNBT.  And  that  was  one 
of  many  amazing  events;  your  75  cents  admission 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


1939  New  York's  World  Fair 


transported  you  to  the  "World  of  Tomorrow",  with  its 
vision  of  a  future  without  crime  or  unemployment  or  litter, 
where  cars  that  looked  a  bit  like  space  ships  sped  along 
the  superhighways  which  joined  even  the  most  distant 
cities.  In  the  World  of  Tomorrow,  every  home  was  filled 
with  labour-saving  devices  to  make  housework  easier,  and 
the  ultimate  in  servants  was  a  robot  named  Electro.  Over 
40  million  people  would  visit  the  Fair  before  it  ended, 
including  such  luminaries  as  President  Roosevelt,  the 
King  and  Queen  of  England  and  Albert  Einstein. 

Having  endured  so  much  suffering  during  the 
Depression,  the  country  was  eager  for  a  hopeful  vision  of 
the  future.  Perhaps  that  is  why  the  movie  The  Wizard  of 
Oz  touched  so  many  hearts,  along  with  Judy  Garland's 
beautiful  song,  "Over  the  Rainbow."  And  another  big 
movie  in  1939  was  the  somewhat  controversial  Gone  With 
the  Wind  -  to  us  today,  the  idea  that  the  word  "damn" 
would  cause  any  consternation  seems  odd,  but  in  the 
1930s,  there  was  a  very  strict  code  of  conduct  for  all 
movies,  and  it  included  a  list  of  "banned  words,"  the 
presence  of  which  could  cause  a  director  problems. 
Luckily,  Gone  With  the  Wind  managed  to  avoid  being 
censored,  Rhett  did  in  fact  say  "Frankly,  my  dear,  I  don't 
give  a  damn,"  and  audiences  didn't  seem  especially 
shocked.  The  movie  was  a  huge  success  and  it  went  on  to 
win  the  Academy  Award  for  Best  Picture,  with  Vivian 
Leigh  also  winning  Best  Actress. 

Nineteen  thirty-nine  was  a  good  year  for  new 
inventions  -  DDT,  for  example,  and  a  wonderful  new 
fabric  called  "nylon."  Pan  American  began  commercial 
flights  across  the  Atlantic  in  1939,  and  for  those  who 
preferred  to  drive,  the  first  cars  with  an  automatic  clutch 
were  available.  A  loaf  of  bread  cost  eight  cents,  and  you 
could  get  a  new  car  for  $700;  the  average  person  made 
$1,729  a  year. 

Some  of  the  music  in  1939  was  patriotic  -  Kate  Smith 
was  constantly  asked  to  sing  "God  Bless  America"  on  her 
radio  show  -  but  other  songs  were  just  silly  and  fun  - 

(Continued  on  page  13) 

tily2006  *  Number  8  12 


Radio  in  1939  (Continued  from  page  12) 

"Beer  Barrel  Polka:  was  a  big  hit  in  1939,  as  was  "Three 
Little  Fishes."  And  a  new  trend  was  developping:  several 
radio  stations  now  featured  personable  announcers  who 
played  records  and  talked  to  the  audience.  Among  the 
most  popular  of  these  new  "disc  jockeys"  was  New  York's 
Martin  Block  with  his  popular  show  The  Make-Believe 
Ballroom.  In  Chicago,  the  first  African- American  disc 
jockey,  Jack  Cooper,  had  been  on  the  air  throughout  the 
1930s,  and  he  still  was  playing  the  hits  in  1939.  Although 
radio  stations  in  1939  had  few  black  announcers,  more  and 
more  songs  by  black  performers  were  being  heard  on  a 
regular  basis  -  Duke  Ellington's  Orchestra  was  especially 
popular,  as  was  female  vocalist  extraordinaire  Ella 
Fitzgerald.  And  while  most  major  pro  sports  were  still 
segregated,  boxing  was  not;  one  athlete  who  kept  right  on 
winning  was  Joe  Louis,  whose  matches  were  always  heard 
on  radio.  In  an  interesting  news  note,  one  of  the  country's 
largest  and  most  respected  black  newspapers,  the 
Pittsburgh  Courier,  had  already  sent  a  reporter  to  Europe 
to  cover  the  growing  tension  there  -  and  since  he  spoke 
French,  he  was  able  to  scoop  several  of  his  white 
colleagues  when  hostilities  broke  out  in  France. 

As  for  America's  most  famous  woman,  the  First  Lady, 
Eleanor  Roosevelt  was  a  frequent  guest  on  the  networks  - 
she  gave  several  talks  in  1939,  including  one  around 
Mother's  Day  about  the  contributions  women  made  to  the 
founding  of  the  United  States.  Women's  shows  (cooking, 
homemaking,  fashion,  etc)  were  still  a  fixture  of  many 
stations,  but  several  stations  also  had  women  news 
announcers  and  even  a  woman  commentator  or  two. 
Probably  the  best  known  was  former  newspaper  columnist 
Dorothy  Thompson,  who  became  the  NBC  network's  first 
woman  correspondent  -  she  even  made  the  cover  of  Time 
Magazine  for  being  one  of  the  few  network  newswomen. 


Americans  in  1939  didn't  want  to  think  about  a  war  in 
Europe;  most  preferred  to  stay  neutral.  But  reporters  like 
H.V.  Kaltenborn  and  Edward  R.  Murrow  knew  what  was 
happening  and  tried  to  keep  the  listeners  informed.  It  was 
a  very  ambivalent  time  in  America  -  while  many  people 
were  outraged  by  what  Hitler  was  doing,  in  New  York, 
22,000  pro-Nazi  sympathisers  held  a  large  and  noisy  rally. 

Meanwhile,  in  Canada,  the  government  banned  Father 
Coughlin's  newspaper  Social  Justice  for  being  excessively 
racist  and  prejudiced,  but  in  the  USA,  he  was  still  on  a 
large  number  of  stations  and  still  causing  controversy. 

When  Germany  was  invading  Poland  and 
Czechoslovakia,  all  the  major  radio  networks  sent 
reporters  to  do  live  coverage.  President  Roosevelt  was  still 
insisting  the  United  States  would  stay  out  of  the  war,  and 
most  of  us  had  no  reason  to  doubt  him.  He  remained  a 
very  popular  president,  and  his  Fireside  Chats  were  an 
essential  element  of  how  he  reached  out  to  the  average 
person.  FDR  had  been  doing  these  talks  since  1933,  but 
even  six  years  later,  people  still  looked  forward  to  them. 

Few  Americans  could  foresee  that  we  would  be  unable 
to  remain  outside  the  hostilities  indefinitely.  As  1939 
ended,  radio  was  still  king,  dance  bands  were  still  the 
rage,  and  the  future  looked  reasonably  bright.  A  large  part 
of  the  decade  had  been  very  difficult  for  many  Americans, 
but  now  it  seemed  things  were  continuing  to  improve. 

Donna  Halper  is  a  broadcast  historian  at  Emerson 
College.  This  article  originally  appeared  at  www.  old- 
time,  com  and  is  reprinted  here  by  permission  of  the 
author. 


THE  WIND 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


13 


Librarian's  Shelf 


New  Release 

Blair  of  the  Mounties 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Cloak  and  Dagger 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Kiddie  Records 

Accurate  Ver.  1 

OTRR  Certified  Sets 

50  Years  of  Radio  on  NBC 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Absolute  Power 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Academy  Award  Theater 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Adventures  By  Morse 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Adventures  of  the  Poll 
Parrot 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Alka  Seltzer  Time 

Complete  Ver.  1 
An  Evening  with  Groucho 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Big  Show 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Black  Museum 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Blue  Beetle 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Box  13 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Bright  Star 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Candy  Matson,  Yukon 
28209 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Case  Dismissed 

Accurate  Ver.  1 


Chet  Chetter's  Tales  from 
the  Morgue 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Cinnamon  Bear,  The 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Crime  Classics 

Accurate  Ver.  3 
Cruise  of  the  Poll  Parrot 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Dark  Fantasy 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
The  Devil  and  Mr.  O 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Dimension  X 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Dr.  Kildare 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Family  Doctor 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Frontier  Gentleman 

Complete  Ver.  2 
In  the  Name  of  the  Law 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Incredible,  but  True 

Complete  Ver.  1 
It  Sticks  Out  Half  a  Mile 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Luke  Slaughter  of 
Tombstone 

Complete  Ver.  2 
Magic  Island  (2  discs) 

Complete  Ver.  2 
Marriage,  The 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Mr.  Keen,  Trace  of  Lost 
Persons 

Accurate  Ver.  3 


Mystery  House 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Philo  Vance 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Planet  Man,  The 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Port  of  Call 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Richard  Diamond  (4  discs) 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Rocky  Fortune 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Rogue's  Gallery 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Rotary  Golden  Theater 

Complete  Ver.  1 
Sam  Spade,  The  Adventures  of  (2  discs) 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Shell  Chateau 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Six  Shooter,  The 

Complete  Ver.  4 
Smiley  Burnette  (4  discs) 

Accurate  Ver.  2 
Stand  By  for  Crime 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Tennessee  Jed 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
Victor  Borge  Collection 

Accurate  Ver.  1 
You  Can't  Do  Business  with  Hitler 

Accurate  Ver.  1 

Complete  -  Set  includes  complete  series. 
Accurate  -  Set  includes  all  known  episodes  in 
existence. 

*These  series  are  available  on  compact  disc,  via 
Streamload  online  delivery,  and  on  our  very  own 
Internet  Hub.  Contact  Alan  Foster  at 
(allanpqz @ gmail.com)  for  more  details.* 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


14 


Kiddie  Records  Weekly 

Roger  Hohenbrink 

Why  an  OTRR  special  on  kiddie  records  you  say?  To 
answer  this,  many  kiddie  records  were  produced  during 
the  same  time  frame  as  many  old-time  radio  shows  and 
many  stars  of  radio  also  made  kiddie  records. 

Take  the  "the  Happy  Prince."  This  Oscar  Wilde  fairy 
tale  is  adapted  and  directed  by  the  great  Orson  Welles, 
(The  Black  Museum).  He  also  narrates  this  melancholy 
story,  which  features  Bing  Crosby  as  the  prince  and 
Lurene  Tuttle,  (Effie  on  Sam  Spade),  as  the  swallow.  The 
music  is  composed  by  one  of  the  giants  of  film  music, 
Bernard  Herrmann,  and  is  directed  by  Victor  Young, 
(Shell  Chateau),  another  major  musical  figure  from  that 
era. 

Then  on  the  kiddie  record  "Gerald  McBoing  Boing," 
one  of  the  most  familiar  voices  from  old-time  radio,  the 
Great  Gildersleeve  (Harold  Peary)  tells  us  the  story  of  Dr. 
Suess'  Gerald  McBoing  Boing.  Gerald  can't  talk;  he  goes 
"boing  boing"  instead! 

Captain  Bill  Meets  Feary  O  'Leary 
Captain  Bill  tells  Ricky  and  Judy  the  story  of  Feary 
O'Leary,  an  Irish  sea  monster.  The  narrator,  Don  Doolitte, 
was  a  1940's  radio  announcer. 

Bugs  Bunny  in  Storyland 
Farmer  Fudd  chases  the  wacky  wabbit  out  of  his  carrot 
patch  and  into  the  woods,  where  he  stumbles  upon  the 
gates  of  Storyland.  Once  inside,  Bugs  takes  us  through 
several  Mother  Goose  nursery  rhymes.  Mel  Blanc,  one  of 
radio's  greats,  was  the  voices  on  this  record. 


BABY  SNOOKS  Kiddie  Record 
Fanny  Brice  (1891-1951)  was  the  stage  name  of  Fania 
Borache,  a  Jewish  comedienne  who  began  headlining  with 
the  Ziegfeld  Follies  in  1910.  The  character  of  Baby 
Snooks,  a  mischievous  brat  she  had  first  played  in 
vaudeville  in  1912,  was  featured  on  radio  from  1936  until 
her  death.  Barbara  Streisand  starred  as  Brice  in  the  1964 
Broadway  musical  Funny  Girl,  which  made  her  an 
overnight  sensation. 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


We  could  go  on  and  on  with  the  many  radio  stars  that 
made  kiddie  records. 

Now  with  the  permission  of  the  Kiddie  Records 
Weekly  Web  Site  (http://www.kiddierecords.com/)  we  are 
making  available  to  the  old-time  radio  community  the  first 
of  these  great  records  from  the  past.  This  from  the  Kiddie 
Records  Weekly  website: 

"The  Goal:  We  see  this  wonderful  part  of  our  past 
slowly  dying  out  and  are  concerned  that  one  day  these 
recordings  will  be  completely  forgotten.  Our  mission  is  to 
bring  them  back  to  life  by  sharing  them  with  a  new 
generation  of  online  listeners. 

"Basic  Hip  Digital  Oddio  will  be  featuring  weekly 
stories  and  songs  from  the  golden  age  of  children's 
records,  a  period  which  ran  from  the  mid  1940s  into  the 
early  1950s.  This  era  produced  a  wealth  of  classics, 
headed  by  Capitol's  Record-Readers  and  the  RCA  Victor 
Little  Nipper  series.  Each  one  of  these  recordings  has  been 
carefully  transferred  from  the  original  78s  (plus  a  few  45s) 
and  encoded  to  MP3  format  for  you  to  download  and 
enjoy.  We  believe  that  people  from  around  the  world  and 
of  all  ages  will  be  thrilled  to  hear  these  delightful 
records." 

And  now  a  little  history  on  Kiddie  Records  from  the 
"Golden  Age"  of  Kiddie  78-rpm  Records:  1946-1956,  by 
Peter  Muldavin.  "The  1940's  brought  in  a  number  of 
major  innovations  in  the  production  of  kiddie  records  that 
allowed  their  sales  to  soar  to  astronomical  heights  as 
compared  with  earlier  years. 

"The  first  and  most  important  was  the  introduction  of 
vinyl  ("non-breakable")  records.  Earlier  produced  records 
were,  for  the  most  part,  made  of  brittle  shellac.  Vinyl 
records  were  almost  unbreakable.  Secondly,  the  records 
themselves  were  often  made  of  brightly  colored  materials 
and  were  packaged  in  beautifully  designed,  vividly 
colored  sleeves  and  album  covers.  Thirdly,  the  availability 
of  small  and  inexpensive  "kiddie"  record  players  became 
widespread. 

"All  of  these  factors  combined  to  encourage  parents  to 
buy  records  for  the  kids,  knowing  that  they  would  stand 
up  to  the  rough  handling  and  abuse  that  would  surely 
come  to  pass  and  that  their  children  would  be  attracted  to 
them. 

"In  addition  to  the  physical  attributes  mentioned  above, 
the  creation  and  production  of  the  songs  and  stories  were 
done,  in  many  cases,  at  great  expense  and  specifically  for 
the  record  being  released.  Prior  to  approximately  1953, 
record  companies  did  not  have  to  compete  with  television 
for  the  attention  of  the  children  with  respect  to 

(Continued  on  page  16) 
July  2006  *  Number  8  15 


Kiddie  Records  (Continued  from  page  15) 

entertainment.  Therefore,  they  competed  with  one  another 
in  their  productions  to  get  market  share. 

"Most  major  companies  hired  (sometimes  exclusively) 
the  talents  of  famous  actors  and  singers.  Many  famous 
personalities  produced  some  or  many  kiddie  records 
(Dennis  Day,  Gene  Kelly,  Gene  Autry,  Patti  Page  and 
Bing  Crosby,  to  name  a  few).  Others  produced  only  one  or 
two  (e.g.  Groucho  Marx,  Jimmy  Stewart,  Jack  Carson, 
Ingrid  Bergman  and  Lionel  Barrymore).  The  end  of  the 
1940's  saw  a  proliferation  of  companies  producing 
seemingly  countless  series  of  kiddie  records. 

"Some  of  the  larger  producers  started  releasing  the 
more  popular  records  e.g.  Christmas  carols,  fairy  tales, 
kiddie  bestsellers)  as  parallel  issues  in  both  78  and  45rpm 
formats  in  the  early  1950's.  The  cover  artwork  was  usually 
identical  in  both.  Eventually,  after  78s  were  phased  out 
entirely,  the  45 's  continued  to  be  released  into  the  1980's 
until  they  were  phased  out  in  favor  of  cassettes  and  CD's. 

"One  of  the  most  famous  children's  series  from  this  era 
was  launched  in  1948.  Golden  Records,  a  division  of 
Simon  &  Schuster,  publisher  of  the  famous  "Little  Golden 
Books,"  started  issuing  small  (6"),  almost  indestructible 
yellow  plastic  records.  This  series  was  an  immediate  hit 
with  both  parents  and  kids.  They  were  available  at  almost 
any  grocery  store  for  25  cents.  Most  of  the  first  issues 
were  musical  story  renditions  of  Little  Golden  Books.  The 
child  could  read  the  book  and  follow  along  with  the 
record.  The  series  continued  well  into  the  1960's  and  to 
this  day  remains  as  the  largest  of  all  kiddie  record  sets, 
with  over  700  individual  records  issued. 

"RCA  Victor's  youth  series  that  began  in  1944  became 
known  as  the  famous  "Little  Nipper"  series  in  1950.  Many 
of  the  popular  Disney  stories,  which  were  made  into 
movies,  as  well  as  the  more  popular  TV  shows  of  the  day 
(e.g.  Howdy  Doody,  Tom  Corbett,  Space  Cadet)  appeared 
in  this  series  and  today  are  among  the  more  valuable  and 
popular  of  all  kiddie  78s. 

"A  few  companies  became  known  as  strictly  'children's 
record'  producers.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned  in  the 
previous  paragraphs,  many  readers  will  remember:  Peter 
Pan,  Columbia  Playtime,  Record  Guild  of  America,  Voco, 
Young  People's  Records/Children's  Record  Guild 
(YPR/CRG)  (CRG  was,  for  a  time,  distributed  by  the 
Book  of  the  Month  Club),  Mercury  Childcraft  and 
Playcraft,  Red  Raven  'movie'  records  and  Cricket.  There 
were  also  a  host  of  small  companies  that  produced  a 
limited  quantity  of  records,  only  a  few  of  which  were  for 
the  kiddies.  Unfamiliar  as  the  following  are,  they, 
nevertheless,  contributed  to  the  plethora  of  products.  A 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


small  sampling  of  labels  of  the  post  WWII  era:  Pied  Piper, 
Rocking  Horse,  Pilotone,  Melodee,  Toono,  Belda, 
DeLuxe,  Winant,  Allegro,  Magic  Tone,  Karousel, 
Twinkle,  Color  Tunes,  Musicraft,  Merry-Go-Sound, 
Mayfair,  Musette,  Caravan,  Wonderland,  Adventure, 
Carnival  Toy,  Cub,  Fox,  Star  Bright,  Jackalee,  Kiddie 
Land,  Kiddietoons,  Lincoln,  Teddy  Bear,  Little  Folks 
Favorites,  Little  John,  Magic-Tone,  Mickey  Mouse  Club, 
Disneyland,  Moppet,  Playola,  Records  Of  Knowledge, 
Remington  Junior,  Robin  Hood,  Small  Fry,  Hollywood 
Recording  Guild,  Spear,  Spinner,  Superior,  Talentoon 
(came  in  box  with  marionette),  Tots  n'  Teens,  Treasure 
and  Willida.  In  addition,  there  are  dozens  of  educational, 
instructional,  and  religious  series.  Most  of  these  are  not 
avidly  collected,  but  are,  nevertheless,  part  of  the  legacy 
of  kiddie  78s. 

"Besides  standard  records,  a  large  number  of  picture- 
discs  came  out,  including  several  that  could  be  cut  out  of 
the  back  of  cereal  boxes,  such  as  Wheaties.  With  a  picture 
disc  the  whole  record  is  a  graphic  image  or  photograph. 
The  grooves  are  either  cut  right  into  the  picture,  or  on  a 
clear  laminate  of  plastic  that  is  affixed  to  the  picture  disc. 
One  places  the  needle  right  on  the  record's  picture.  As  a 
rule,  picture  discs  are  more  valuable  than  standard 
records." 

Be  on  the  look  out  for  this  great  distribution  from  the 
Old-Time  Radio  Researchers.  And  be  sure  to  sign  up  for 
his  great  distro  brought  to  you  by  permission  of  Kiddie 
Records  Weekly  Web  Site  and  be  sure  to  visit  them  at 
http://www.kiddierecords.com  Album  covers  and  record 
sleeves  plus  storybooks  for  each  kiddie  record  are  on  the 
CD. 

Credits  for  this  distribution  follow: 

The  Kiddie  Records  Web  Site  crew  -  (Ford)  weekly 
production  compiler  and  Web  site  manager. 
Torrent  Zip  Files  are  created  and  managed  by  (Brian) 
Metalboy.  Album  covers  and  record  sleeves  that  have  seen 
better  days  have  been  restored  by  Kevin  Anetsberger.  A 
portion  of  the  descriptions  for  the  2006  year  has  been 
provided  by  Dave  Pruiksma.  Special  thanks  to  UbuWeb 
and  ArtMob,  former  hosts  of  our  audio  files.  All  have 
volunteered  their  services  and  for  that,  we  are  very 
grateful.  Without  them,  Kiddie  Records  Weekly  would  not 
be  the  site  it  is  today. 

Roger  Hohenbrink  (Compiler)  and  distro  Jewel  Case 
art  work. 

Some  of  the  material  in  this  article  has  been  reprinted 
from  http://www.  kiddierekordking.  com/  and 
http.V/www.  kiddierecords.  com  with  the  permission  of  their 
respective  authors. 

July  2006  *  Number  8  16 


Tips  For  Starting  A  Kiddie  Record 
Collection 

Peter  Muldavin 

For  those  of  you  who  have  been  immersed  in  more 
established  collecting  fields,  starting  a  collection  of 
vintage  children's  records  will  be  relatively  inexpensive.  I 
would  estimate  that  most  "generic"  kiddie  records  in  at 
least  very  good  to  excellent  condition  could  be  had  for  $3 
to  $10,  and  very  often  for  much  less.  I  am  talking  about 
perhaps  80-90%  of  all  those  available. 

Up  to  now  there  have  been  no  comprehensive  price 
guides  or  checklists  on  children's  78rpms.  That  situation 
will  be  remedied  as  of  December,  2006  when  my 
identification  and  price  guide  on  Vintage  Children's 
Records  is  published  (Collector  Books).  Currently,  there 
are  two  books  with  imited  coverage  as  follows:  The 
Golden  Age  Of  Walt  Disney  Records  -R.  Michael  Murray, 
Antique  Trader  Books;  and  Picture  Discs  Of  The  World  - 
Joe  Lindsay,  BlOdisc,  Scottsdale,  AZ.  The  latter  is  out  of 
print. 

So,  if  you  are  ready  to  begin  your  collection  of  vintage 
children's  records,  here  are  a  few  pointers  to  help  you  get 
started.  Because  most  people  collect  kiddie  records  for  the 
graphics  on  the  cover,  records  without  original  sleeves  or 
album  covers  have  little  or  no  collector  value.  Generally, 
you  can  find  loose  (sleeveless)  records  for  250  -$1.00  at 
flea  markets,  garage  sales,  Goodwill,  etc.  Of  course,  if  you 
remembered  a  particular  one  from  growing  up,  you  would 
want  to  hear  the  record,  sometimes  "at  any  cost."  In  this 
case,  the  existence  of  the  original  cover  may  not  be  as 
important  to  you.  The  exception  to  this  rule  is,  of  course, 
picture  discs.  The  record  itself  contains  the  graphics.  "Pic- 
discs"  start  out  at  $4-5  and  range  up  to  $20-25  for  the 
majority.  Many,  however,  are  considerably  more  valuable. 

Any  record  is  ultimately  worth  whatever  one  is  willing 
to  pay  for  it.  Price  guides  such  as  my  soon-to-be- 
published  book  are  just  that:  only  'guides.'  Supply  and 
demand,  along  with  the  subject  matter,  is  the  driving 
force.  Records  and  their  corresponding  covers  which 
contain  "characters"  from  TV  shows,  cartoons,  juvenile 
series  books,  movies,  comic  books,  etc.  will  be  more  in 
demand  than  their  generic  counterparts. 

Certain  generic  subjects,  such  as  black  Americana, 
paper  doll  cutouts  (on  the  covers),  1950s  rocket  ships  and 
outer  space  themes,  famous  illustrators  (of  covers),  robots, 
and  so  forth,  will  also  be  more  collectible.  Crossover 
collectibility  results  in  greater  demand,  thus  higher  values. 
The  dealer  knows  that  these  records  can  command  his 
asking  price  because  his  customers  want  anything  with 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


these  characters  on  it.  Mitigating  that  situation,  however, 
is  the  phenomenon  of  eBay  and  other  Internet  auctions. 
Many  previously  scarce  records  have  been  coming  out  of 
the  woodwork,  so  to  speak. 

If  you  are  used  to  collecting  items  only  in  mint 
condition,  don't  get  hung  up  on  this  criteria.  Kiddie 
records  haven't  survived  the  decades  as  well  as  many  other 
collectible  items  because  of  the  wear  and  tear  they 
received  from  their  young  owners.  If  you  see  a  record  you 
like  in  less  than  perfect  condition,  even  if  it  is  only  "fair" 
or  "good,"  you  may  want  to  pick  it  up,  especially  if  the 
price  is  low  (which  it  should  be).  Most  of  these  records, 
especially  those  with  crossover  collectibility,  or  limited 
production,  you  may  not  see  again  for  a  very,  very  long 
time. 

Even  though  you  may  be  buying  the  item  for  the 
graphic  beauty  of  the  cover,  the  condition  of  the  record  is 
relatively  important.  In  other  words,  it  shouldn't  be 
severely  warped,  cracked,  or  otherwise  damaged. 
Otherwise,  it  has  no  value.  Just  remember  you  are  not 
buying  CD's  here.  Ultimately,  the  record  is  worth 
whatever  it's  worth  to  you.  Just  enjoy!  "If  the  records  don't 
come  to  you,  you  must  go  to  the  records."  Try:  Internet 
searches,  eBay,  ads  in  antique  and/or  record  collector 
magazines,  flea  markets,  garage  sales,  antique  shows, 
record  shows  -  in  other  words,  "all  the  usual  suspects." 

Peter  Muldavin  has  that  unique  quality  which  makes  a 
collector  of  children's  ephemera  successful:  he  is  "fifty- 
something  going  on  five. "  Peter  has  been  a  longtime 
collector  of  everything  from  baseball  cards,  stamps  and 
coins,  and  old  children's  books  to  his  current  focus  on  old 
kiddie  records.  As  with  most  of  his  collections,  this  one 
got  started  as  a  nostalgic  pursuit  of  some  of  his  most 
precious  childhood  memories.  But,  when  he  looked  for 
price  guides  and  checklists  to  know  what  was  "out  there, " 
he  found  none.  And  after  his  collection  was  well  under 
way,  he  even  went  to  the  Library  of  Congress  to  research 
the  subject.  He  discovered  to  his  surprise  that  he  had 
more  information  than  they  did.  At  this  point,  Peter's 
"hobby"  became  his  "mission"  -  i.e.,  to  list  all  kiddie 
78rpm  records  made  in  the  USA.  His  current  inventory  of 
approximately  10,000  discs  (not  counting  duplicates)  is 
the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  He  is  acknowledged  as 
the  country's  leading  expert  in  this  field. 

This  article  is  reproduced  from 

http://www.kiddierekordking.com/  by  permission  of  the 
author. 

uly  2006  *  Number  8  17 


Midnight  Cab 

By 

Fred  Bertelsen 


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Created  with  EclipseCrossword  —  www.eclipsecrossword.com 


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Across 


finally  become  friends 


2.  Off  to  a  rocky  start  with  Toronto  Metro  PD,  Homicide  Inspector  Wilfred  _ 

8.  Krista  spent  most  of  her  waking  moments  in  a  

9.  David  portrayed  Walker  Devereaux 

10.  Bob  was  the  host  of  the  CBC  Mystery  Project. 

12.  With  everything  else  that  was  going  on  around  him,  Walker  was  trying  to  become  an 

13.  A  dead  body  in  the  trunk  of  Walker's  cab  in  the  first  episode  is  what  led  him  to  the  business  of  _ 


murders 


Down 


I.  Midnight  Cab  was  created  by  James  W  

3.  Additionally  Midnight  Cab  appeared  on  Morningside  which  was  hosted  by  Rogers 

4.  Jacqueline  played  the  Dispatcher  Krista  Papadopoulos. 

5.  Midnight  Cab  was  part  of  the  CBC's  Project 

6.  Walker  Devereaux  came  from  (2  words) 

7.  Midnight  Cab  is  set  in 

II.  The  friendly  homicide  Inspector  was  played  by  Neil  


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


18 


Last  Month's  Answers 

The  Whistler 


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1  10 

B 

I 

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Created  with  EclipseCrossword  —  www.eclipsecrossword.com 


Humphrey  Bogart  Trivia  Answers 
from  June  Issue 

1.  Dec  25,  1899 

2.  A  Surgeon 

3.  Yes,  in  the  Navy  in  WW  1 

4.  A  bomb  blast  in  WW  1 

5.  Duke  Mantee 

6.  "High  Sierra" 

7.  Sam  Spade 

8.  Warner  Brothers 

9.  "Dark  Victory" 

10.  Rick 

1 1 .  Ingrid  Bergman 

12.  Claude  Rains 

13.  Dooley  Wilson 

14.  Casablanca 

15.  Morocco 

16.  4  times 


17.  Lauren  Bacall 

18.  "To  Have  And  Have  Not" 

19.  "Bold  Venture" 

20.  "The  African  Queen" 

21.  Charlie  Allnut 

22.  Captain  Queeg 

23.  "The  Desperate  Hours" 

24.  "The  Harder  They  Fall" 

25.  January  4,  1957 

Congratulations  to  Fred  McGurn,  winner  of  a  personally 
autographed  picture  of  Bob  Hope  for  being  the  first 
responder  with  all  the  correct  answers. 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


19 


OTRR  Releases  Cloak  and  Dagger 


OTRR  Treasury  Report 


The  hard  working  members  of  the  OTRR  Group 
announce  the  release  of  Cloak  and  Dagger  to  the 
community. 

Cloak  and  Dagger  opened  over  the  NBC  network  on 
May  7,  1950.  It  had  a  short  run  through  the  summer  on 
Sundays,  changing  to  Fridays  after  its  summer  run.  The 
last  show  aired  Oct.  22,  1950.  The  series  told  fictional 
stories  of  OSS  agents  during  World  War  II  who  took 
dangerous  missions  behind  enemy  lines,  knowing  they 
may  never  return  alive.  The  theme  music  was  either 
identical  or  very  similar  to  that  used  by  Tales  of  the  Texas 
Rangers.  Sherman  Marks  directed.  The  cast  consisted  of 
The  Hungarian  Giant,  played  by  Raymond  Edward 
Johnson,  and  Impy,  the  Midget,  played  by  Gilbert  Mack 

The  following  people  worked  to  bring  this  series  to 
you. 

Series  Synopsis  -Paul  Motsuk 

Artwork  -Brian  Allen 

Pictures,  other  extras  -  Fred  Bertelsen 

Episode  Listener  -  Paul  Motsuk 

Stars  Bios  -  Stephen  Meyers 

Audio  Briefs  -  Doug  Hopkinson,  Ron  Speegle 

This  series  is  currently  being  distributed  in  the  OTRR 
Distro  #1  Group,  by  Streamload  (Contact  Allan  Foster  - 
allanpqz@gmail.com  for  more  details)  and  by  the  OTRR 
Hub  Librarians.  It  will  also  be  coming  to  a  group  near  you 
very  soon. 


The  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers  currently  has 
$1,345.35  in  the  Treasury.  We  have  made  some  major 
purchases  in  connection  with  another  group  recently  and 
continue  to  buy  over  100  hours  each  month  of  new 
series/episodes. 

Thanks  to  the  following  people  for  their  contributions  - 
Patrick  Belanger,  Jim  Beshires,  Dale  Beckman,  Robert 
Booze,  Anita  Boyd,  De  DeTevis,  Pete  Calvallo,  Ryan 
Ellett,  Scott  Erickson,  Lisa  Fittinghoff,  Alan  Foster,  Allan 
George,  Archie  Hunter,  Mike  Hamm,  Doug  Hopkinson, 
Steve  Cottle,  Clyde  Kell,  Sean  Boyd,  Chris  Antonacci, 
Robert  Johnson,  Charlie  Henson,  Roger  Hohenbrink, 
Tony  Jaworowski,  Dave  Johnson,  Jim  Jones,  Tom 
Mandeville,  Tasseau  Martillo,  Mark  McClure,  Jim 
McGee,  Henry  Morse,  Stephen  Myers,  David  Oxford, 
Robert  Philips,  Ron  Shalow,  Ed  Sehlhorst,  Gary  Stanley, 
Clorinda  Thompson,  Jerry  Young,  Michael  Galbreath, 
and  Greg  Cloakley. 

If  you  would  like  to  assist  in  bringing  new  series  and 
better  encodes  to  the  otr  community,  or  otherwise  support 
the  work  of  the  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers,  please  mail 
any  amount  to: 

Tony  Jaworowski 
15520  Fairlane  Drive 
Livonia,  MI  48154 

or  send  via  Paypal  to  ajaworowski@ameritech.net 


Basic  Hip  Digital  Oddio 

KIDDIE  RECORDS  WEEKLY 

CLASSICS  FROM  THE  GOLDEN  AGE 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


20 


Ryan's  Discs 

Ryan  Ellett 

It's  interesting  to  me  how  small  incidents  and 
happenings  sometimes  take  on  a  life  of  their  own,  gaining 
a  reputation  far  beyond  that  ever  envisioned  by  people 
involved  in  the  events.  This  is  exactly  what  has  happened 
with  the  so-called  "Ryan's  Discs."  I  was  recently 
reminded  of  this  project  so  I  thought  it  would  be  fun  to 
share  its  history,  especially  with  those  of  you  who  may  not 
have  been  around  since  the  beginning. 

The  idea  for  "Ryan's  Discs"  (so  named  by  others,  not 
me)  came  about  in  early  2002.  The  old-time  radio 
community  is  well  known  for  the  generosity  of  so  many 
fans,  and  I  was  at  a  point  where  I  wanted  to  help  out  other 
folks  like  I'd  been  helped.  Streamload  was  fairly  new  at 
the  time,  I  believe.  Those  of  you  who  were  around  back 
then  probably  remember  how  hard  it  was  to  find  reliable, 
easy-to-use  methods  of  file  transfer. 

I  think  MyPlay  and  MyLocker  (or  programs  named 
similarly)  had  been  used  briefly  before  they  disappeared. 
Several  ftp  sites  were  up  and  running  but  the  average 
collector,  to  my  knowledge,  didn't  have  much  access  to 
those.  A  small  number  were  messing  with  Napster  (this  is 
pre-lawsuit  days).  Others  were  making  a  few  shows 
available  on  websites  for  download.  Through  into  the  mix 
that  broadband  was  not  as  widespread  as  it  is  now.  It  was 
all  haphazard  and  not  overly  efficient. 

Compact  disc  was  the  best  way  to  distribute  and  trade 
large  numbers  of  shows.  By  Spring  of  2002  I'd  amassed  a 
collection  of  approximately  350  discs  (all  mainly  with 
unique  material)  in  about  16  months.  The  vast  majority  of 
this  material  had  come  from  cd  trades  and  round-robins, 
especially  the  old  O-Tree  group. 

In  the  late  months  of  '01  and  early  months  of  '02  a  new 
service,  Streamload,  came  to  our  attention.  It  was  met  with 
great  enthusiasm  because  it  was  easy  to  use  and  huge 
numbers  of  files  could  be  transferred  at  a  time  (note  that 
Streamload  is  not  actually  a  file-transfer  program,  but  for 
all  intents  and  purposes  it  acts  the  same  way). 

By  this  time  I  had  acquired  broadband  access  and 
decided  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  to  start  uploading  my 
collection  to  Streamload  so  it  could  be  shared  with 
everyone.  At  the  time,  350  discs  was  a  sizable  collection. 
With  Streamload' s  uploader  working  nonstop,  I  could 
upload  two  discs  a  day  around  my  work  schedule. 

I  plugged  away  and  in  early  March,  2002, 1  offered  my 
first  set  on  the  oldradioshowsonmp3  Yahoo  group.  The 
response  was  extremely  positive  so  I  forged  ahead, 
working  my  way  back  to  the  beginning  of  my  collection. 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


After  my  first  two  or  three  offerings,  however,  the  project 
grew  beyond  my  ability  to  handle  it.  It  took  quite  a  while 
to  "beam"  25  cds  worth  of  material  to  a  collector.  And  I 
was  getting  literally  hundreds  of  requests  for  the  different 
offerings.  I  could  not  keep  up  with  demand. 

Trusting  in  the  good-heartedness  of  hobbyists,  I  asked 
for  volunteers  to  step  up  and  handle  the  distribution  of  the 
programs.  Each  volunteer  would  be  responsible  for  an 
offering  of  25  cds.  All  requests  would  go  directly  to  them 
and  they  would  respond  accordingly.  My  request  worked 
and  fans  stepped  up  to  help  out. 

I  don't  recall  how  long  it  took  to  finish  uploading  my 
collection.  I  was  teaching  at  the  time  and  had  summers 
off,  so  I  made  good  progress  through  the  summer  months. 
By  the  end  of  the  summer,  though,  the  bulk  was  done. 
Done  except  for  the  first  twenty-five  discs,  that  it.  The 
rumor  is  true  that  those  were  never  done.  Streamload 
exploded  in  popularity  and  tens  of  thousands  of  shows 
were  uploaded,  including  about  everything  from  those  first 
discs.  I  decided  there  was  no  use  uploading  what  already 
was  available. 

In  a  way,  my  role  in  the  "Ryan's  Discs"  began  to  fade 
during  this  time.  While  I  was  still  uploading  furiously, 
when  a  block  of  cds  was  done  I  simply  streamed  them  to 
the  volunteer  distributor  and  moved  on  to  the  next  batch.  I 
lost  touch  with  how  many  people  were  receiving  these 
shows.  Once  the  last  batch  was  sent  to  the  distributor  (disc 
26  -  50),  I  basically  put  the  project  behind  me. 
Occasionally  I  would  compile  a  new  set  as  I  acquired  new 
material,  but  this  was  not  often.  Little  did  I  know  that  as  I 
was  closing  that  chapter  in  my  OTR  life,  the  discs  were 
opening  their  own  chapter  in  the  hobby. 

In  late  2003,  a  year  or  so  after  I  finished  the  bulk  of  my 
uploading,  I  came  across  a  Yahoo  group  that  was 
primarily  focused  on  the  distribution  of  these  cd  sets.  I 
think  this  is  where  I  first  saw  the  uploads  referred  to  as 
"Ryan's  Discs"  or  "Ryan's  Collection."  It  was  run  by 
Uncle  Sycamore  and  George  Hughes,  two  guys  I  had 
known  for  some  time.  By  this  time  I  was  no  longer 
uploading  new  additions  to  my  collection.  I  was  up  to 
about  450  cds  and  Uncle  Syc  asked  if  I  would  supply  the 
group  with  my  new  material  and  they'd  take  care  of  its 
distribution.  I  was  never  too  involved  in  the  group  but  I 
did  send  them  my  new  material  periodically.  This  lasted 
perhaps  a  year  before  I  lost  touch  with  them. 

And  since  that  time  I've  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
"Ryan's  Discs."  That  I  generally  go  by  the  nickname 
OzRadio  I  think  has  helped  create  a  nice  distance  between 
myself  and  the  discs. 

Every  few  months  I  get  an  email  about  them,  but 

(Continued  on  page  22) 

ilv2006  *  Number  8  21 


Ryan's  Discs  (Continued  from  page  21) 

unfortunately  I  don't  have  any  Streamload  access  anymore 
so  cannot  beam  the  shows.  Now  and  then,  however,  I  am 
reminded  of  how  widespread  these  discs  have  become.  Of 
course  the  Personal  Collection  Yahoo  group  caught  me  off 
guard.  When  I  joined  the  Researchers  I  was  surprised  how 
many  people  knew  of  me  through  that  project.  Google 
searches  occasionally  turn  up  discussions  and  requests  on 
various  boards  for  the  discs. 

What  really  prompted  this  article,  however,  was  a 
recent  email  from  one  of  my  original  distributors.  He 
wanted  to  know  if  I  could  re-upload  a  certain  disc.  He  was 
still  sending  out  several  copies  of  his  batch  of  discs  every 
month,  and  there  was  a  problem  with  this  cd. 

I  was  stunned.  While  I  knew  the  discs  still  circulated,  I 
had  no  idea  that  an  original  volunteer  was  still  beaming 
them  out\  He's  probably  been  doing  this  for  four  years  or 
so! 

Jim  B.  (who  credits  these  discs  with  getting  him  into 
the  mp3  scene)  and  I  joke  that  the  Researchers  exist  to 
clean  up  the  mess  made  by  the  distribution  of  Ryan's 
Discs.  The  discs  are  filled  with  countless  errors  in  dating 
and  content.  Still,  it's  humbling  to  know  that  work  I 
started  on  a  whim  four  and  a  half  years  ago  is  still  being 
carried  out. 

Interestingly,  I  rarely  get  new  material.  Researchers' 
sets  are  the  only  shows  I  ever  download  anymore,  and  I  do 
that  sparsely.  I've  even  considered  dumping  most  of  my 
collection  and  just  holding  on  to  the  few  series  I  enjoy  the 
most.  Indeed,  I  realize  the  inherent  flaws  and  problems 
with  Ryan's  Discs,  and  for  that  I  have  some  regret. 
Nevertheless,  I  like  to  think  that  the  enjoyment  brought  by 
these  shows  to  so  many  fans  far  outweighs  any 
inconvenience  I  have  caused  the  hobby. 

Blair  of  the  Mounties 

Blair  of  the  Mounties,  the  story  of  the  Royal  Northwest 
Mounted  Police,  was  a  fictional  series  based  on  the  work 
of  the  Northwest  Mounted  Police  before  World  War  I.  It 
was  a  fifteen  minute  weekly  serial  heard  every  Monday 
for  36  weeks  beginning  January  31st,  1938  and  running 
through  the  3rd  of  October  of  1938.  It  may  have  been  on 
the  air  as  early  as  1935,  although  we  cannot  find  actual 
proof  of  this. 

Little  is  known  of  the  series  other  than  it  followed  the 
exploits  of  Sgt.  Blair  of  the  Northwest  Mounted  Police 
and  probably  was  the  inspiration  for  Trendell,  Campbell 
and  Muir's  Challenge  of  the  Yukon. 

The  series  was  written  by  Colonel  Rhys  Davies,  who 

The  Old  Radio  Times  * 


also  played  the  Colonel  Blair  in  the  series.  Jack  Abbot 
played  the  Constable. 

Jack  French,  one  of  OTR's  best  researchers  says  this: 
"Blair  is  not  restricted  to  Canada,  as  other  Mounties,  as  we 
find  him,  in  a  few  cases,  in  Great  Britain,  solving  cases. 
Overall  the  series  is  amateurishly  written,  with  the  actor 
playing  Blair  coming  accross  as  a  bit  stuffy." 

The  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers  Group  would  like  to 
thank  the  following  people  who  helped  on  this  series  - 
Series  Compiler  -  Dale  Beckman 
Listener(s)  -  Dale  Beckman 
Series  Coordinator  -  Bob  Gilroy 
Audio  Briefs  Announcer(s)  -  Doug  Hopkinson,  Ron 
Speegle 

Audio  Briefs  Compiler(s)  -  Jim  Beshires 
Artwork  -  Jim  Beshires 

Missing  Episodes  Moderator  -  Clorinda  Thompson 

And  the  members  of  the  OTTR  Purchasing  Group  for 
supplying  funds  to  purchase  missing  episodes. 


Web  Update 

Just  when  we  thought  that  we'd  reached  the  pinnacle, 
we  set  a  new  record  with  24,278  visits  to  the  site  during 
the  month  of  June,  paid  by  5,512  people.  Visitors  came 
from  82  countries.  Again  we  ran  out  of  bandwith  for  the 
month.  Over  270,000  hits  were  also  recorded,  with  over 
200,000  files  accessed. 

We  continue  to  add  to  the  Old-Time  Radio  Script 
section  and  the  Art  Gallery  and  many  people  are  utilizing 
these  sections. 

What  is  of  unusual  interest  is  the  number  of  downloads 
of  back  issues  of  the  magazine.  During  June,  608  copies  of 
the  June  issue,  543  of  the  May,  and  274  of  the  April  issue 
were  downloaded!  We  currently  have  just  over  1,400 
subscribers. 

Our  OTR  Database  continues  to  be  very  popular  with 
364  downloads  along  with  many  thousands  of  downloads 
of  the  individual  series  logs. 

Another  thing  I  found  very  interesting  is  that  we  had 
1,300  hits  by  US  Educational  Institutions,  537  by  the  US 
Military,  and  1042  by  US  Government  Agencies!  Shades 
of  Big  Brother! ! !  Wonder  what  they  were  looking  for? 

The  OTTR  Website  continues  to  be  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  the  old-time  radio  websites,  being  #1  in  most 
search  engines  and  in  the  top  5  in  the  rest. 


2006  *  Number  8  22 


Wistful  Vistas 
Ryan  Ellett 

Although  I  don't  actively  collect  coins,  I  do  have  a 
passing  interest  in  the  hobby  and  frequent  numismatic 
message  boards  from  time  to  time.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  within  the  numismatic  world  there  are  a  good  number 
of  individuals  who  love  studying,  researching,  and 
learning  about  coins  but  who  have  little  interest  in  actually 
collecting  coins.  I  always  thought  the  point  of  a  collecting 
hobby  was  to  acquire  the  appreciated  objects. 

I  was  comforted  to  make  this  discovery  because  this 
attitude  is  very  similar  to  that  which  I  bring  to  old-time 
radio.  If  you  read  my  piece  on  Ryan's  Discs,  you  know  I 
have  a  sizable  collection;  it  approaches  600  cds.  However, 
even  with  tens  of  thousands  of  programs  at  my  fingertips, 
I  have  listened  to  maybe  half  a  dozen  all  year,  and  most  of 
those  were  on  the  way  to  the  Cincinnati  convention. 

It  may  sound  strange,  but  I  actually  enjoy  reading  and 
studying  about  old-time  radio  as  much  as,  if  not  more 
than,  actually  listening  to  these  classic  programs.  In  fact,  I 
think  I've  ready  about  half  a  dozen  OTR  books  this  year, 
not  counting  the  dozens  of  OTR  newsletters  I've 
skimmed. 

It's  why  I  love  putting  this  magazine  out  every  month, 
despite  the  hassles  and  headaches.  It  gives  me  an  excuse 
to  keep  up  on  old-time  radio  research  and  discoveries.  It 
keeps  me  in  touch  with  inviduals  at  the  forefront  of 
uncovering  new  information  about  the  genre.  It's  also 
created  many  pleasant  exchanges  with  others  outside  the 
hobby  who  have  interests  that  intersect  with  OTR,  such  as 
this  month's  piece  by  kiddie-record  expert  Peter 
Muldavin. 

One  great  thrill  about  editing  this  rag  is  the  occasional 
article  that  arrives  out  of  the  blue.  Such  is  the  case  with 
this  month's  lead  by  Jack  French.  Anytime  you  open  your 
email  and  find  a  piece  by  French  waiting  for  you,  you 
know  the  upcoming  issue  will  be  a  gem. 

I  love  the  variety  we  bring  to  our  readers  every  month 
and  first-time  writer  Andrew  Hopkinson  helps  us  in  this 
regard.  His  recounting  of  his  time  turning  an  old  classic 
radio  into  an  OTR  jukebox  will  be  of  interest  to  many. 

This  month's  venture  beyond  old-time  radio  into  the 
general  nostalgia  field  focuses  on  kiddie-records,  a  natural 
connection  to  one  of  the  group's  new  releases.  If  you 
don't  know  much  about  this  hobby  (as  I  didn't),  you  won't 
find  a  better  introductory  piece  than  that  penned  by  Peter 
Muldavin. 

If  this  isn't  enough,  we've  included  the  montly  dose  of 
OTR  cultural  history  by  Danny  Goodwin  and  Donna 


Halper.  Their  contributions  alone  justify  the  montly  price 
of  admission. 

For  dessert  you'll  find  the  last  in  Stewart  Wright's 
series  of  book  reviews  so  kindly  written  for  us.  Ed 
Sehlhorst's  Johnny  Dollar  trivia  will  certainly  garner  a 
perusal  as  you  search  for  your  hometown's  inclusion  on 
the  list  (no  luck  here).  Top  it  off  with  Fred's  monthly 
crossword  brainbuster. 

As  usual,  read  and  reread  your  Times,  pass  it  on  to  a 
friend  and  consider  how  you  can  lend  a  hand. 


News  &  Notes 

Just  a  reminder  that  Martin  Grams'  Mid- Atlantic 
Nostalgia  Convention  is  coming  up  September  14  -  17, 
2006,  in  Aberdeen,  Maryland.  Among  other  areas  of 
interest,  the  convention  will  feature  classic  movies, 
antique  cars,  magicians,  celebrities,  and  old-time  radio. 
Jack  French,  Jim  Cox,  and  Martin  Grams  will  all  be 
talking  about  OTR  and  Charlie  Summers  will  be  directing 
a  recreation. 

Anyone  wanting  further  information  (including 
guests  and  list  of  events)  can  consult  the  Convention  web- 
site at  http://www.midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com  or 
phone  Martin  direct  at  (717)  456-6208. 

If  you  ever  find  yourself  watching  The  Two  Jakes,  the 
sequel  to  Chinatown,  listen  for  The  Whistler  playing  in  the 
background  while  Jack  Nicholson  is  driving  in  his  car. 


DON'T  FORGET 

SUNDAY,  March  8,i 
FRED  ALIEN 

Will  BE  ON  THE  AIR  EVERY 

SUNDAY  NIGHT 


tton  coMiro  coast 

l-i  "  -  Vmm 

9-10 

{  -■•■■ill  Ttmrn 

8  9 
Maintain  Tims 
7-1 

6.7 

:  "  " -■'  U  r  a  -w 

cm  •:   -  v 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


23 


ONE  YEAR  $15  FOR  4  ISSUES 

10280  Gunpowdsr  Read  Flareroe,  KY  41042 


Old  Time  Radio  I  alive  and  well  in  the  pages  of 
The  OLD  TIME  RADIO  DIGEST.  Our  recipe  is  to 
have  a  nice  mix  of  current  articles  by  collectors 
with  material  from  old  radio  publications  of  the  past. 
We  are  in  our  20th  year.  Oldest  OTR  publication 
without  a  club  association. 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


24 


Buy-S 

ASTROLOGY  REPORTS  -  Designed  with  you  in  mind. 
Choose  from  seven  different  reports.  E-mail 
beshiresjim@yahoo.com  for  a  complete  listing.  Most 
reports  $20.00.  All  proceeds  go  to  the  OTRR  Purchasing 
group  to  assist  in  buying  new  series/episodes. 


1  -  Trade 

Don't  throw  away  those  old  OTR  newsletters  or 
memorabilia  from  other  groups.  Contact  Ryan  at 
01dRadioTimes@yahoo.com.  I  can't  pay  much  for  them, 
but  I  can  probably  cover  shipping. 

Anyone  interested  in  trading  raw  ET  .wav  dubs  please 
contact  Cliff  at  cliff  marsland@yahoo.com. 


The  Old  Radio  Times  is  published  monthly  by  the  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers.  All  articles  are  the  property  of  their 
respective  authors  and  are  printed  by  permission.  The  contents  -  outside  legal  "fair-use"  guidelines  -  may  not  be 
reproduced  in  any  format  without  the  permission  of  the  author.  Unless  otherwise  indicated  by  the  writer,  it  is  assumed 
all  comments  received  from  readers  of  the  Old  Radio  Times  may  be  published  at  the  editor's  discretion.  Mention  of 
particular  products  and  services  does  not  imply  endorsement  by  the  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers. 


Contributors: 

Fred  Bertelsen  *  Jim  Beshires  *  Ryan  Ellett  *  Jack  French  *  Danny  Goodwin  *  Donna  Halper  *  Andrew  Hopkinson  * 

Roger  Hohenbrink  *  Peter  Muldavin  *  Ed  Sehlhorst  *  Stewart  Wright 

Submissions  and  submission  inquiries  should  be  sent  to  Ryan  Ellett,  Editor,  01dRadioTimes@yahoo.com.  Articles  may 
be  submitted  as  a  word-processing  file  or  in  the  body  of  an  email. 


Visit  us  on  the  Web: 

http  ://w  w  w .  otterproj  ectonline  .info/ 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/01dTimeRadioResearchersGroup/ 
http :  //groups .  yahoo  .com/group/ Otter-Pro  j  ect/ 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


25 


Old-Time  Radio  Researchers  Information 

OTRR  INFORMATION  AND  OFFICIAL  BUSINESS 
123  Davidson  Ave,  Savannah  31419 
Telephone  912-961-7956 

GROUP  LEADERS 
Jim  Beshires  (beshiresiim@yahoo.com) 
Doug  Hopkinson  (atoning2003  @  yahoo.com) 

TREASURER 

Tony  Jaworoski,  15520  Fairlane  Drive,  Livonia,  MI  48154  (tony  senior@yahoo.com) 

ASSISTANT  GROUP  LEADERS 
Acquisitions  (cassette)  -  Ed  Sehlhorst  (ed.sehlhorst@gmail.com) 
Acquisitions  (reel-to-reel)  -  Mark  Mcclure  (perrymason61  @  yahoo.com) 
Acquisitions  (paper-based  items)  -  Ryan  Ellett  (OldRadioTimes  @  yahoo.com) 
Certified  Series  Moderator  -  Bob  Yorli  (yorli@yahoo.com) 
Webmaster  -  OTR  Project  -  any  ol  one  (otrmail @ gmail .com) 

OTRR  DVD/VCD  Library  -  Ron  Speegle 
OTR  Web  Moderator  -  Jim  Sprague  (sprocket]  @ comcast.net) 
Missing  Episodes  Moderator  -  Clorinda  Thompson  (cthompsonhsd@yahoo.com) 
Distro  Moderator  -  Dee  Detevis  (dedeweedy  @ aol.com) 
Distro2  Moderator  -  Dave  Tysver  (dave.tysver@verizon.net) 
OTR  Project  Moderator  -  Andrew  Steinberg  (nightkey5  @  yahoo.com) 
Final  Preparations  Moderator  -  Roger  Hohenbrink  (rhohenbrink@  earthlink.net) 
OTTER  Moderator  -  Archie  Hunter  (y  know  archie@hotmail.com) 
Hubmaster  -  Philip  (phlipper376@yahoo.com) 
Software  Development  -  any  ol  one  (otrmail  @  gmail.com) 
Streamload  -  Allan  (allanpqz@gmail.com) 
Mail  Library  -  Doug  Hopkinson  (atoning2003  @  yahoo.com) 
Wiki  Master  -  Menachem  Shapiro  (m.shapiro@gmail.com) 
Sound  Restoration  Moderator  -  Henry  Morse  (spockl  @yahoo.com) 
Sound  Restoration  Moderator  -  Anita  Boyd  (synagogue  @  yahoo.com) 
Newsletter  Editor  -  Ryan  Ellett  (OldRadioTimes  @  yahoo.com) 

RELATED  GROUPS 
Old  Time  Radio  Researchers 
OTR  Project 
Distro 
Distro  2 
Purchasing 
Sound  Restoration 
Software  Development 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


Sushi  Bar 

For  Those  Who  Like  Their  Data  Raw 

New  Acquisitions  By  the  Old-Time  Radio  Researchers 


Amos  &  Andy  51  05  27  Photo  Of  Jewelry  Store 
Robber.mp3 

Casebook  Of  Gregory  Hood  49  10  15  The  Carnival  Of 
Death.MP3 


Magnificent  Montague  51  07  21  Edwin  Montague 
Day.MP3 

Mail  Call  xx  xx  xx  (178)  Guest  Jack  Douglas.MP3 
Mail  Call  xx  xx  xx  (86)  Guest  Groucho  Marx.MP3 


Charlotte  Greenwood  Show  45  09  02  Jack  And  The 
Missing  Fifty  Dollars.MP3 

Cisco  Kid  xx  xx  xx  (791)  Vendetta  Of  Vengance.MP3 
Cisco  Kid  xx  xx  xx  (792)  Disaster  At  The  Bridge.MP3 

Gallant  American  Women  39  12  12  Laws  And  The 
Woman. mp3 

Gallant  American  Women  40  01  02  Women  Of 
Learning.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  16  Bob  Strong's  Legacy. MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  19  El  Gringo.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  23  Singapore's  Peg  Leg.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  26  Luke  Learns  A  Lesson.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  30  Judge  Brennan.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  05  05  Lookout  Tower  Mystery. MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  05  07  The  Raft.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  05  10  (2388)  Dancehall  Of  Death.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  05  12  (2389)  Fathers  At  Law.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  48  02  13  Mysterious  Stranger.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  02  16  Man  Of  Destiny. mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  02  27  Grandpa  Brown.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  01  Letter  From  Albuquerque. mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  03  Runaway  Boy.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  12  The  Wolf  Pack.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  15  Melissa  Downs'  Nephew.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  22  Murder  And  Thunder  Martin.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  26  The  Sword.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  03  28  Lieutenant  Nelson's  Mistake. mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  02  Border  Patrol.mp3 

Lone  Ranger  48  04  05  A  Fight  For  Peace. mp3 

Lone  Ranger  55  10  06  Stolen  Watch(End  Cut).mp3 

Lone  Ranger  55  10  07  Call  To  The  Colors(End  Cut).mp3 

Lone  Ranger  55  10  10  Twist  Of  Fate.MP3 

Lone  Ranger  55  10  11  Marked  For  Death. mp3 

Magnificent  Montague  5 1  07  28  Gwendolyn  Visits.MP3 


Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Apartment.MP3 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Baby.MP3 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Question.MP3 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 
Godfather.MP3 
Mary  Lee  Taylor 


48  11  19  Life  At  The  New 

48  10  30  Sally  Makes  Up  Her  Mind.MP3 

48  1 1  06  Strange  Reunion.MP3 

48  1 1  26  Jim's  Night  Out.MP3 

48  12  03  Old  Friend  Charlie.MP3 

48  12  10  Sally  Redecorates. MP3 

48  12  17  Home  For  Christmas.MP3 

48  12  25  Christmas  Story.MP3 

49  01  08  Will  The  Landlord  Accept  The 

49  01  15  Worrying  About  Prowlers. MP3 
49  01  29  Sally's  Birthday  Party.MP3 
49  02  05  The  Twenty  Dollar 

49  02  12  Budget  Problems.MP3 
49  02  19  Dad's  Old  Flame.MP3 
49  02  26  Three's  A  Crowd.MP3 
49  03  05  Horoscopes.MP3 
49  03  12  Doc  Bradley.MP3 
49  03  19  Naming  The  Baby.MP3 
49  03  26  Now  We  Are  Three.MP3 
49  04  02  Sally's  One  Track  Mind.MP3 
49  04  09  Sally  Comes  Home.MP3 
49  04  16  Whose  Baby  Is  She.MP3 
49  04  23  Who  Will  Be  Betsy's 

49  1 1  11  Sally  Finds  An  Apartment.MP3 


Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Tango.mp3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
The  Country. mp3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Why.mp3 


First  Song  Every  Night.mp3 
First  Song  It  Takes  Two  To 

First  Song  Love  Is  Sweeping 

First  Song  The  Contential.mp3 
First  Song  Why  Baby 

(Continued  on  page  28) 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


27 


New  Acquisitions  (Continued  from  page  27) 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx  (1)  Second  Song  Whispering 
Hearts.MP3 


Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Wanna  Mambo  Polka.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Ringing.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Strutters  Ball.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Danced  All  Night.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Wedding  Bells.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Love.MP3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Music.MP3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Nickel.MP3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Heaven.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Marry  Me.mp3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
You.MP3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Blue.mp3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Strings  Of  My  Heart.MP3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Doo.mp3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
To  Me.mp3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Love  For  You.mp3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
But  Us  Chickens. mp3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Do.mp3 

Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Like  A  Melody.mp3 
Music  On  Deck  xx  xx  xx 
Have  Ya.mp3 


2)  First  Song  Marie.MP3 

3)  Second  Song  The  I  Don't 

4)  First  Song  Bells  Are 

5)  First  Song  Darktown 

6)  First  Song  I  Could  Have 

8)  Second  Song  Sweet 

9)  Second  Song  The  Game  Of 

25)  First  Song  Say  It  With 

26)  First  Song  If  I  Had  A 

39)  First  Song  Anyplace  Is 

49)  First  Song  Technique. mp3 
51)  First  Song  Will  You 

51)  Second  Song  It  Could  Be 

52)  First  Song  When  I  Get 
52)  First  Song  Zing  Went  The 
54)  First  Song  Boop  te 

81)  First  Song  Just  Leave  It 

82)  First  Song  Saving  All  My 

83)  First  Song  Nobody  Here 

84)  First  Song  What'll  I 

85)  First  Song  A  Pretty  Girl  Is 

86)  First  Song  Baby  I  Gotta 


Presenting  Charles  Boyer  50  08  08  Fortune  Teller's 
Fortune.MP3 

Quiz  Kids  46  03  24  What  Husband  Gave  His  Wife  The 

Only  Name  She  Had.MP3 

Quiz  Kids  54  01  03  Who  First  Said  This  Famous 

Quote.MP3 


Nick  Carter  45  09  09  The  Talking  Tree.MP3 

Presenting  Charles  Boyer  50  07  18  Thief,  Beautiful 
Woman  &  Crime.MP3 


Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 
Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Kid.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 

Man's  Fortune. mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 

Miracle.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Valley.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Stampede.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Booty.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Maverick  Valley.mp3 
Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Bridge. mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 
Gold.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Gold.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Texas  Style.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Jones.  mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Fortune.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
Kitchen.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 
Three  Horn  Ranch. mp3 
Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
of  the  Incas.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 

and  the  City  of  Gold.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 

Moon.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx 
Fort  Ramirez.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx 
the  Guadalupes.mp3 


03)  Rusty  Bill.mp3 

04)  The  Oklahoma 

05)  The  Squaw 

06)  Red  Ingles' 

07)  Thunder 

08)  The  Great 

09)  Pirate 

10)  Adventure  in 

11)  Broken 

12)  Poison 

13)  The  Lake  of 

14)  Cattle  Rustling, 

15)  Windmill 

16)  The  Lost 

17)  Devil's 

18)  The  Secret  of 

19)  The  Lost  City 

20)  Chuckaluck 

21)  Craters  of  the 

22)  The  Gold  of 

23)  The  Treasure  of 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


(Continued  on  page  29) 
28 


Recent  Acquisitions  (Continued  from  page  28) 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx  (24)  The  Treasure 
of  Cuengha  Pass.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (25)  Peg  Leg 
Smith.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (26)  The  Ghost 

Rider  of  Loma  Escondida.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (27)  Posthole 

Bank.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (28)  Pot  O' 
Gold.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (29)  The  Skeleton 
in  the  Well.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (30)  The  Bryfogel 
Mine.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx  (31)  The  Seven 
Cities  of  Sibola.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx  (32)  The  Unburied 
Treasure. mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (33)  The  Lure  of  El 
Dorado. mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (34)  Yankee 
Dan.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (35)  The  Adventure 
at  Mud  Creek.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (36)  The  Golden 
Chimney.mp3 

Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  5 1  xx  xx  (37)  Tarzan.mp3 
Tales  From  The  Diamond  K  51  xx  xx  (38)  Talbot's 
Bank.mp3 

YTJD  =  Yours  Truly,  Johnny  Dollar 
YTJD  51  12  29  The  Alma  Scott  Matter.MP3 
YTJD  61  07  23  The  Chuck  A  Nut  Matter.MP3 
YTJD  62  01  07  The  Hot  Chocolate  Matter  .MP3 
YTJD  62  02  1 1  The  Do  It  Yourself  Matter.MP3 
YTJD  62  02  25  The  Mixed  Blessings  Matter.MP3 
YTJD  62  04  29  The  Grand  Canyon  Matter.MP3 
YTJD  62  05  06  The  Burma  Red  Matter.MP3 


Database  Updates 


June  15,  2006 

Added  years  on  air  to 
Bob  Hope  Shows 
Bing  Crosby  Shows 

NEW  SERIES 

The  Amazing  Spiderman  -  Adam  Gott 
Meyer  The  Buyer  -  Adam  Gott 

ADD'L  EPISODES 

Yankee  Yarns  -  Scott  Carpenter 

Bickerson  -  Scot  Carpenter 

REVISED  LOGS 

Romance  -  Clorinda  Thompson/David  Oxford 
Curtian  time(37-39)  -  Clorinda  Thompson 
Curtian  Time  (45-50)  -  Clorinda  Thompson 

OTHER 

Singles  And  Doubles  -  Many  -  Andrew  Steinberg 
Man  Called  X-  Spelling  -  Andrew  Steinberg 

June  19,  2006 

DELETE  - 

Stephen  King  Audio  Books 

NEW  SERIES  - 

Music  on  Deck  -  Jim  B 

The  Mildred  Bailey  Show  -  Jason  Clark 

The  Meaning  Of  America  -  Jason  Clark 

The  Lina  Romay  Show  -  Jason  Clark 

Melody  Promade  -  Jason  Clark 

Melody  Tours  -  Jason  Clark 

Musings  &  Music  -  Jason  Clark 

Sister  Elizabeth  Kenny  Revue  -  Jason  Clark 

Major  Bowles  Original  Amateur  Hour  -  Jason  Clark 

Make  Believe  Ballroom  -  Jason  Clark 

Makers  Of  History  -  Jason  Clark 

Man  Your  Battlestations  -  Jason  Clark 


SPELLING  - 

SINGLES  AND  DOUBLES  -  ANDREW  STEINBERG 
LORD  PETER  WIMSEY  -  Astor56 

REVISED  LOG- 

Gary  Crosby  Show  -  Jim  Beshires 


(Continued  on  page  30) 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


29 


Database  Updates  (Continued  from  page  29) 


Hardy  Family  -  Added  Date 


June  21,  2006 


July  7,  2006 


NEW  SERIES  - 

Bride  And  Groom  -  Jason  Clark 

Masterpiece  Radio  Theater  -  Jason  Clark 

Meet  Me  At  Parky's  -  Jason  Clark 

Mennen  Shave  Time  -  Jason  Clark 

Mercer  LcLeoud  -  Jason  Clark 

Mack  Baldy  -  Jason  Clark 

The  Martin  Block  Show  -  Jason  Clark 

OTHER  CHANGES  - 

The  Tide  Show  -  Added  Episode  Titles  -  Jim  Beshires 

Your  Hit  Parade  -  Spelling  -  Andrew  Steinberg 

Philip  Marlowe  -  Episdoe  Corrections  -  Andrew  Steinberg 

Strange  Adventure  -  Added  Episode  Titles  -  Andrew 

Steinberg 

Space  Patrol  -  Spelling  -  Andrew  Steinberg 

The  Saint  -  Marked  Episodes  Unavialible  -  Andrew 

Steinberg 

Lum  &  Abner  -  Spelling 


NEW  SERIES  - 
Play  Ball 

The  Metropolitian  Opera 
Light  Up  and  Listen  Club 
Main  Street  Music  Hall 
Miracles  &  Melodies 
Modern  Romance 
Story  Of  Satan  Place 

NEW  EPISODES  - 
Aunt  Jemima 
Country  Hoedown 
Jack  Armstrong 

OTHER  CHANGES 
Arch  Obolers  Plays  -  Delete  bad  entries 
Strange  Adventure  -  Spelling 
Jeff  Regan  -  correcting  bad  entries 
A  Date  With  The  Duke  -  Revised  Log 
Singles  And  Doubles  -  Many 
Imigination  Theater  -  Revised  Log 
Bickersons  -  Revised  Log 


June  30,  2006 

NEW  SERIES  - 
The  Happy  Gang 
Helen  Hayes  Theater 
Country  Style  USA 
Wings  Above  The  Diamantina 
It  Pays  To  Be  Married 

ADDITIONAL  EPISODES  - 
Greatest  Story  Ever  Told 
Treasury  Salute 
Man  Called  X 

SPELLING 
Strange  Adventure 
The  Bickerson 
Lum  &  Abner 
Nightfall  (NPR) 

DELETE  BAD  ENTRIES 
Singles  &  Doubles 
Nightfall(CBC) 
Lights  Out 
The  Saint 
Nick  Carter 
Intrigue 

OTHER 

The  Pacific  Story  -  Added  Episode  Titles 

The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8 


BLAIR  OF  THE 
MOUNTIES 


AAP3 
FORMAT 


The  Old  Radio  Times  *  July  2006  *  Number  8